Euphrates

American  

[yoo-frey-teez] / juˈfreɪ tiz /

noun

1. a river in SW Asia, flowing from E Turkey through Syria and Iraq, joining the Tigris to form the Shatt-al-Arab near the Persian Gulf. 1,700 miles (2,735 km) long.

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Euphrates British  

/ juːˈfreɪtiːz /

noun

1. a river in SW Asia, rising in E Turkey and flowing south across Syria and Iraq to join the Tigris, forming the Shatt-al-Arab, which flows to the head of the Persian Gulf: important in ancient times for the extensive irrigation of its valley (in Mesopotamia). Length: 3598 km (2235 miles)

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Other Word Forms

• Euphratean
  adjective
• trans-Euphrates
  adjective

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Euphrates

On Sunday, Raqa water authorities said the Euphrates River water level had dropped by about 60 centimetres in 24 hours -- but the gradual decrease has not yet resolved the crisis.

From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026

Earlier, the army took the strategic Tabqa dam on the Euphrates river.

From BBC ● Jan. 30, 2026

Syrian forces took from the SDF a military base, oil facilities and a dam on the Euphrates River, weakening the Kurdish group’s negotiating hand over the future of its thousands of fighters.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026

Dozens of residents crossed the Euphrates in boats after two bridges were destroyed, while residents toppled a statue of a woman erected by Kurdish forces.

From Barron's ● Jan. 19, 2026

One test comes from an archaeological site at the edge of the Euphrates Valley in Syria, called Tell Abu Hureyra.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond