Potomac

[ puh-toh-muhk ]

/ pəˈtoʊ mək /

Save This Word!

noun

a river flowing SE from the Allegheny Mountains in West Virginia, along the boundary between Maryland and Virginia to the Chesapeake Bay. 287 miles (460 km) long.

a city in central Maryland, near Washington, D.C.

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON "IS" VS. "ARE"

"Is" it time for a new quiz? "Are" you ready? Then prove your excellent skills on using "is" vs. "are."

Question 1 of 7

IS and ARE are both forms of which verb?

have

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Words nearby Potomac

potman, pot marigold, pot marjoram, pot metal, pot of gold, Potomac, Potomac fever, Potomac River, potometer, pot on, potoo

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use Potomac in a sentence

Small, shallow-draft scows then took the stones to much bigger schooners or sloops, anchored in deeper water, for the trip up the Potomac.
Hiking along Virginia’s Aquia Creek and finding history a stone’s throw from home|Walter Nicklin|April 2, 2021|Washington Post
The attraction, fashioned from two shipping containers, sits on its own pier, directly over the Potomac in front of Ada’s.
A Potomac view meets polished cooking at Ada’s on the River in Alexandria|Tom Sietsema|March 26, 2021|Washington Post
The Americans had mysteriously failed to destroy the bridge at Bladensburg that spanned the Eastern Branch of the Potomac — the Anacostia River.
In 1814, British forces burned the U.S. Capitol|Joel Achenbach|January 6, 2021|Washington Post
It was the stake that pinned the capital forever to this patch of land on the Potomac.
In 1814, British forces burned the U.S. Capitol|Joel Achenbach|January 6, 2021|Washington Post

The first step is the addition of a new Long Bridge over the Potomac to add rail lines, a project now in the design stage.
Coming in the next decade: National Landing adds buses, trains, sidewalks, streets|Patricia Sullivan|January 1, 2021|Washington Post
What does is the fact that the state Senate district he represented until 2010 is across the Potomac River in Maryland.
The 8 Most Competitive Congressional Races of 2014|Ben Jacobs|October 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Potomac now home to ugly invasive voracious snakehead predator species.
Up to a Point: P.J. O’Rourke on Valentine’s Day and Oral Hygiene|P. J. O’Rourke|February 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Skutnick was a government worker who had plunged into the icy Potomac to rescue victims of a plane crash.
Looking Back at Past SOTU Addresses|Eleanor Clift|January 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Pandit lived in North Potomac, Maryland, for 20 years with his wife and his golden retriever.
Remembering the Navy Yard Victims|Nina Strochlic|September 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
But if anything goes wrong, look out—and not just in the region, but on the Potomac too.
Will Boehner Play Ball on Syria?|Michael Tomasky|August 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Afterward, when the news came that Lee had succeeded in getting his army safely across the Potomac, Mr. Middleton's hopes revived.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
Up to this time the cavalry of the Army of the Potomac had taken little part in the great battles which had been fought.
The Boys of '61|Charles Carleton Coffin.
It had hastened to the Potomac in time to aid in rescuing the capital when Lee made his first Northern invasion.
The Boys of '61|Charles Carleton Coffin.
Round their bivouac fires the history of the Army of the Potomac was freely discussed.
The Boys of '61|Charles Carleton Coffin.
Mosby is with him, and the irregular bands of the upper Potomac, and the troops which met Hunter at Lynchburg.
The Boys of '61|Charles Carleton Coffin.

British Dictionary definitions for Potomac

Potomac

/ (pəˈtəʊmək) /

noun

a river in the E central US, rising in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia: flows northeast, then generally southeast to Chesapeake Bay. Length (from the confluence of headstreams): 462 km (287 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