as in brook
a natural body of running water smaller than a river
there are a few tiny fish in the rill
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of rill
His verses evoke sacred rivers, fertile grounds and gardens bright with sinuous rills—a lyrical world beyond the inauspicious reality of its start-point.
—
Natalie Hoberman, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2025
Earthbound telescopes saw rills or gullies that later proved to be collapsed lava tubes.
—David Szondy, New Atlas, 16 July 2024
These rills form as the desiccating winds of the Sahara blow tiny bits of sand across the rock.
—Bethany Brookshire, Scientific American, 27 June 2024
Now a little rill of wavelets across the surface of the flood was the only thing that marked the river’s usual borders.
—Brooke Jarvis, New York Times, 31 May 2023
Over millions of years, the river and its tributaries have carved a fanlike rill of dramatic canyons out of the ancient sediments of the Mesa Verde tablelands, a maze of vertiginous stone walls.
—Jeff Wise, Discover Magazine, 19 May 2010
Natalie Hoberman, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2025
Earthbound telescopes saw rills or gullies that later proved to be collapsed lava tubes.
—David Szondy, New Atlas, 16 July 2024
These rills form as the desiccating winds of the Sahara blow tiny bits of sand across the rock.
—Bethany Brookshire, Scientific American, 27 June 2024
Now a little rill of wavelets across the surface of the flood was the only thing that marked the river’s usual borders.
—Brooke Jarvis, New York Times, 31 May 2023
Over millions of years, the river and its tributaries have carved a fanlike rill of dramatic canyons out of the ancient sediments of the Mesa Verde tablelands, a maze of vertiginous stone walls.
—Jeff Wise, Discover Magazine, 19 May 2010
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rill
Noun
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Her laughter was said to sound like a babbling brook.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Nov. 2025
-
Michelle turned back, but the other two children went walking along a trail near what is now I-395 and came across a brook.—
Grace Zokovitch,
Boston Herald,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The Rock Creek Loop traverses approximately seven miles of ravines, creeks, subtropical forest, and small footbridges.—
Carrie Honaker,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Nov. 2025
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The 40 minute round-trip rolls up the Red Clay Valley, with unobstructed views of moonlit fields, rocky cuts and creek banks.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
31 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rill.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rill. Accessed 23 Nov. 2025.
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