Ganges

American

[gan-jeez] / ˈgæn dʒiz /

noun

a river flowing SE from the Himalayas in N India into the Bay of Bengal: sacred to Hindus. 1,550 miles (2,495 km) long.

Ganges British

/ ˈɡændʒiːz /

noun

Hindi name: Ganga. the great river of N India and central Bangladesh: rises in two headstreams in the Himalayas and flows southeast to Allahabad, where it is joined by the Jumna; continues southeast into Bangladesh, where it enters the Bay of Bengal in a great delta; the most sacred river to Hindus, with many places of pilgrimage, esp Varanasi. Length: 2507 km (1557 miles)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Gangetic adjective

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The Yamuna river, a major tributary of the Ganges, continues to suffer from severe pollution despite repeated clean-up pledges.

From Barron's • Oct. 27, 2025

Dozens of cruise trips operate on both the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers.

From BBC • Apr. 5, 2025

India's longest and most holy river, the Ganges, is home to thousands of dolphins.

From BBC • Apr. 5, 2025

Similar analysis showed the last sediment deposited in the old Ganges channel had the exact same age.

From Science Magazine • Jun. 17, 2024

Early one morning they hired a boat to row them into the Ganges River, a waterway sacred to Hindus.

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023