bourns

noun

variants or bournes
plural of bourn
as in brooks
a natural body of running water smaller than a river idyllic days that were spent rambling the length of the bourn that flowed through that peaceful vale

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bourns
  1. brooks
  2. creeks
  3. rills
Noun
  • In addition to canceling outside noise, the headphones provide crisp audio and relaxing white-noise options, including rainy parks and babbling brooks.
    — Melony Forcier, Travel + Leisure, 23 June 2026
  • Insects drone over running brooks.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Apr. 2026
Definition of brooks
Noun
  • The flooding is most likely near small creeks, urban areas, places with poor drainage and other low-lying regions.
    — Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 16 Aug. 2026
  • That could look like flooding of rivers, creeks, streams and low-lying areas or areas with poor drainage.
    — Katie Langford, Denver Post, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of creeks
Noun
  • What had looked like a dense palm grove from above is actually a lush network of wheat, zucchini, mint, and tomato plots fed by a network of rills that carry water from a natural pool to the crops below.
    — Christopher Garis, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Jan. 2022
Definition of rills
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

bournes
bourns
bout
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bourns.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bourns. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of rigmarole

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All