# culvert

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈkʌlvə(ɹ)t/ · frequency rank #49,855

## Definitions
1. A channel crossing under a road or railway for the draining of water.

## Etymology
Origin obscure, with a number of possible etymologies suggested:
* a dialectal word,
* a word related to the name of the now-forgotten inventor,
* a derivation from French couvert (“covered”), although couvert is not used in this sense and the French translation of culvert is ponceau or buse de drainage,
* a derivation from an unrecorded Dutch word, possibly *coul-vaart, a combination of Dutch coul-, from French couler (“to flow”), and Dutch vaart (“a trip by boat, a canal”).

## Easily confused with
- **covert** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/covert-vs-culvert)
- **culver** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/culver-vs-culvert)
- **convert** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/convert-vs-culvert)
- **Colbert** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/colbert-vs-culvert)
- **Calvert** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/calvert-vs-culvert)

## Common misspellings (11)
`cculvert`, `cluvert`, `culevrt`, `cullvert`, `culverrt`, `culvertt`, `culvetr`, `culvret`, `culvvert`, `cuvlert`, `uclvert`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/culvert