river

¹

[riv-er]

noun

1. a natural stream of water of fairly large size flowing in a definite course or channel or series of diverging and converging channels.

2. a similar stream of something other than water: a river of ice.

   a river of lava;

   a river of ice.

3. any abundant stream or copious flow; outpouring: rivers of words.

   rivers of tears;

   rivers of words.

4. Astronomy.,  River, the constellation Eridanus.

5. Printing.,  a vertical channel of white space resulting from the alignment in several lines of spaces between words.

river

²

[rahy-ver]

noun

1. a person who rives.

river

/ ˈrɪvə /

noun

1. 1. a large natural stream of fresh water flowing along a definite course, usually into the sea, being fed by tributary streams

   2. ( as modifier )

      river traffic

      a river basin

   3. ( in combination )

      riverside

      riverbed

2. any abundant stream or flow

   a river of blood

3. informal,  to deceive or betray

4. slang,  poker the fifth and final community card to be dealt in a round of Texas hold 'em

river

1. A wide, natural stream of fresh water that flows into an ocean or other large body of water and is usually fed by smaller streams, called tributaries, that enter it along its course. A river and its tributaries form a drainage basin, or watershed, that collects the runoff throughout the region and channels it along with erosional sediments toward the river. The sediments are typically deposited most heavily along the river's lower course, forming floodplains along its banks and a delta at its mouth.

Other Word Forms

• riverless adjective
• riverlike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of river¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English river(e), rever(e), from Old French rivere, riviere, from unattested Vulgar Latin rīpāria, noun use of feminine of Latin rīpārius riparian

Origin of river²

First recorded in 1450–1500; rive + -er ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of river¹

C13: from Old French riviere , from Latin rīpārius of a river bank, from rīpa bank

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. sell down the river, to betray; deceive; double-cross.

   to sell one's friends down the river.

2. up the river,

   1. to prison.

      to be sent up the river for a bank robbery.

   2. in prison.

      Thirty years up the river had made him a stranger to society.

see sell down the river; up the river.

Example Sentences

In the play—spoiler alert—Ophelia drowns in a river after her father is murdered by Hamlet, whom she may have been in love with.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Many international visitors have to apply for tourist visas, including Felix Donaldson, a 29-year-old academic researcher from the U.K., who spent a recent evening in Chongqing on a nighttime river cruise.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

In the U.S., foreign mussels are wreaking havoc in the Great Lakes, invasive fungi are threatening trees in Hawaii and non-native carp are invading rivers and lakes.

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Now his neighborhood next to the river is deserted.

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Water firms have been told by authorities to fix outdated infrastructure which has been found to be the cause of much river and water pollution.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• estuary 
• stream 
• tributary