downriver

adverb or adjective

down·​riv·​er ˈdau̇n-ˈri-vər How to pronounce downriver (audio)
: toward or at a point nearer the mouth of a river

Examples of downriver in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Bystanders cut the rope and took him downriver but failed to revive him. The Editors, Outside Online, 10 June 2015 Scarcely had the trio pushed off than the Kentucky’s rapid current sped them downriver to the ominous north bank, where five warriors—three Shawnee and two Cherokee—snatched the girls and vanished into the forest. Peter Cozzens, WSJ, 27 Sep. 2021 The Superfund cleanup sites are downriver from the century-old plant, which for decades had released chemicals into the nearby waterways. Hiroko Tabuchi, New York Times, 20 May 2020 The reservation is also downriver from a former General Motors factory that is now a Superfund site. Priya Krishna, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2020 Fishing in the entire Columbia is currently open through Feb. 29, then will close to all salmon, steelhead and shad fishing downriver from Warrior Rock, at the north end of Sauvie Island. oregonlive, 20 Feb. 2020 Dozens of residents from the village of Kute joined nonprofits to file what was Albania’s first environmental lawsuit against the construction of a dam in the Pocem gorge, a short distance downriver from Kalivac. Washington Post, 3 Dec. 2019 On the Petaluma River, the ramp in Petaluma is open, yet the one just downriver at Black Point is closed; same river, different counties, different rules. Tom Stienstra, SFChronicle.com, 24 Apr. 2020 The riverboat casino 14 miles downriver from Louisville just closed its doors on Monday. Ben Tobin, The Courier-Journal, 11 Dec. 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'downriver.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1760, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of downriver was in 1760

Dictionary Entries Near downriver

Cite this Entry

“Downriver.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/downriver. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

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