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  • Riviera
    Riviera
    noun
    a resort area along the Mediterranean coast, extending from Saint Tropez, in SE France, to La Spezia, in NW Italy.
  • riviera
    riviera
    noun
    a coastal region reminiscent of the Riviera

Riviera

American  
[riv-ee-air-uh, ree-vye-rah] / ˌrɪv iˈɛər ə, riˈvjɛ rɑ /

noun

  1. French Côte d'Azur.  a resort area along the Mediterranean coast, extending from Saint Tropez, in SE France, to La Spezia, in NW Italy.

  2. (often lowercase) any similar coastal resort area.

    the Florida riviera.


riviera 1 British  
/ ˌrɪvɪˈɛərə /

noun

  1. a coastal region reminiscent of the Riviera

"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

Riviera 2 British  
/ ˌrɪvɪˈɛərə /

noun

  1. the Mediterranean coastal region between Cannes, France, and La Spezia, Italy: contains some of Europe's most popular resorts

"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

Riviera Cultural  
  1. Narrow strip of land in southeastern France and northwestern Italy on the Mediterranean Sea, also including Monaco. Cannes, Monte Carlo, and Nice are three of its best-known towns and cities.


Discover More

Its scenic beauty and mild climate make it a popular vacation area.

The French Riviera is also called the Côte d'Azur (the azure coast).

Etymology

Origin of Riviera

C18: from Italian literally: shore, ultimately from Latin rīpa bank, shore

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:

Mr. Sinner’s ex-coach Riccardo Piatti, who runs his own tennis academy on the Italian Riviera and frequently appears on television as a commentator, comes off as a one-man conglomerate.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 3, 2026

Many French A-listers, drawn to the understated charm of Cap-Ferret over the glitz of the French Riviera, spend their vacations there or own homes on the peninsula.

From Barron's Jul. 24, 2026

You can find them at Milan Fashion Week, on the French Riviera and courtside at NBA games.

From MarketWatch Jun. 27, 2026

American Korda made a crucial birdie on the 17th hole as she posted a two-under-par 69 to finish eight under at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles.

From BBC Jun. 8, 2026

Not until I got older did I learn that Flatbush Avenue inspired a lower level of awe than the French Riviera.

From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore

The visit to the principality on the French riviera will take place on March 28 and will be the first papal trip to the city state in modern times.

From Barron's Feb. 25, 2026

In many respects it looks very much like a case of business as usual on the riviera.

From The Guardian May 10, 2019

Since then, at least two more crew members have died, including Rebecca Boyle, 32, a stewardess from London, who died on the Italian riviera this summer.

From The Guardian Dec. 22, 2018

A regional airport near the Jordanian port of Aqaba could relieve air traffic next door in the Israeli city of Eilat; an open border would attract many more tourists to the Red Sea riviera.

From Time Magazine Archive

From a semi-tropical riviera, with the scent of orange blossoms still in his nostrils, he may mount above the snow line in a few brief hours.

From In the Oregon Country Out-Doors in Oregon, Washington, and California Together with some Legendary Lore, and Glimpses of the Modern West in the Making by Putnam, George Palmer

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