Ganges

American  

[gan-jeez] / ˈgæn dʒiz /

noun

1. 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.

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Ganges British  

/ ˈɡændʒiːz /

noun

1. 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)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Gangetic
  adjective

Example Sentences

The desert is already advancing eastwards, threatening the river floodplains of the Ganges, he warned.

From Barron's • May 31, 2026

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

Sharma says heckling of women for their clothing is unheard of in Rishikesh, a city in the Himalayan foothills on the banks of Ganges river.

From BBC • Oct. 14, 2025

"I will bathe in the river because I feel the need to connect with the Ganges."

From BBC • Jan. 12, 2025

But she had not understood being excluded from the family’s plans to travel to Calcutta that summer to see their relatives and scatter Ashoke’s ashes in the Ganges.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri