rill

¹ American  

[ril] / rɪl /

noun

1. a small rivulet or brook.

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rill ² American  

[ril] / rɪl /

Or rille

noun

Astronomy.

1. any of certain long, narrow, straight or sinuous trenches or valleys observed on the surface of the moon.

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rill British  

/ rɪl /

noun

1. a brook or stream; rivulet

2. a small channel or gulley, such as one formed during soil erosion

3. Also: rille.  one of many winding cracks on the moon

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Etymology

Origin of rill¹

1530–40; < Dutch or Low German; compare Frisian ril

Origin of rill²

1885–90; < German Rille; see rill ¹

Example Sentences

My filly’s whinny, timid trill: I’m sitting by this icy rill, In wintry, frigid wild?

From Washington Post • Nov. 10, 2022

Water, and lack of water, is a recurring theme, represented by two ponds connected by a dry rill.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2020

It’s hard to ascribe majesty to such a dirty, ruin-crowded waterway, a rill so narrow it can be easily spanned by a well-thrown baseball.

From Salon • Feb. 24, 2013

God knows what religion we would have � possibly Druidism, if we have a Celtic rill in our veins.

From Time Magazine Archive

She laughed, and the sound was a clear rill bubbling over rocks and stones.

From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman