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.

---

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)

---

Other Word Forms

• Euphratean
  adjective
• trans-Euphrates
  adjective

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Euphrates

Syria said last week it had to open the Euphrates Dam floodgates for the first time in decades.

From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026

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

The Syrian military said Sunday that it was in control of the Euphrates Dam and that government technicians were moving in to hand control of its water and hydroelectric facilities to the government in Damascus.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 18, 2026

In their settlements of the Tigris and Euphrates valley, they also invented the city-state, formal religion, writing, mathematics, law, and, to a large extent, architecture.

From "The Annotated Mona Lisa" by Carol Strickland and John Boswell