river

noun

riv·​er ˈri-vər 

often attributive

1

a

: a natural stream of water of usually considerable volume

b

: watercourse

2

a

: something resembling a river

a river of lava

b

rivers plural : large or overwhelming quantities

drank rivers of coffee

see also:

up the river

Examples of river in a Sentence

The raft is too small to use on this part of the river.

Rivers of mud flowed down the hillside.

Recent Examples on the Web

Combined with relatively intact northern river systems and low human population densities across much of the region, those protections have helped preserve one of the species' last strongholds. — Melissa Cristina Márquez, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026

Days of heavy monsoon rain has caused rivers, including the Brahmaputra, to overflow that inundated communities while disrupting livelihoods and damaging infrastructure. — ABC News, 10 Aug. 2026

Hungary and Romania were forced to temporarily shut down nuclear reactors cooled by the Danube, Europe’s second-longest river, which has experienced such low water levels that the crisis can be observed from space. — Lex Harvey, CNN Money, 10 Aug. 2026

That protected those particular areas from ordinary floods, but the team claims, removed much of the river system’s overflow capacity. — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 9 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English rivere, from Anglo-French, from Vulgar Latin *riparia, from Latin, feminine of riparius riparian, from ripa bank, shore; perhaps akin to Greek ereipein to tear down

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing river

• atmospheric river
• down the river
• mouth of the river
• river blindness
• river dolphin
• river duck
• river horse
• river mouth
• river otter
• river's mouth
• sell down the river
• up the river

Rhymes for river

• giver
• liver
• livre
• quiver
• shiver
• sliver
• caregiver
• deliver
• downriver
• lawgiver
• upriver

Kids Definition

river

noun

riv·​er ˈriv-ər 

1

: a natural stream of water larger than a brook or creek

2

: a large stream or flow

the jet stream is a river of air

Etymology

Middle English rivere "river," from early French rivere (same meaning), derived from Latin riparius "related to or located on the bank of a river," from ripa "shore"