Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

Columbia River

Cultural  
  1. River that runs from British Columbia, Canada, to the Pacific Ocean and passes between Oregon and Washington.


Discover More

Known for its great salmon runs in spring.

The site of the Bonneville and Grand Coulee Dams.

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.

See Examples For:

I screened it at Columbia River and twice at Oregon State Penitentiary—once for the lifers group, once for the Asian Pacific Family Club.

From Slate May 27, 2026

McBride was seated at the kitchen table of his custom-built home, two miles above the Columbia River in rural Washington state.

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 15, 2026

The 35-year-old aims to raise her kids in a soon-to-be-built house overlooking the Columbia River and has her eye on Airbnb investments to cash in on the region’s growth.

From The Wall Street Journal Nov. 4, 2025

Wilcove describes fish ladders installed on dams in the Columbia River that allowed adult salmon to travel upstream but offered no accommodation for juveniles heading in the opposite direction, leading local populations to collapse.

From Slate Aug. 28, 2024

According to Fenn, “the great preponderance of the evidence” indicates that the Shoshone also transmitted smallpox down the Columbia River into the Pacific Northwest.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training