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
-
The original one, fed by a nearby brook, has been out of commission for decades, and two others, installed by the current owners, haven’t been used in several years.—
Kim Velsey,
Curbed,
27 Aug. 2025
-
Connected blocks created a bridge across a brook and carried lightweight objects.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
20 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The dry creek isn’t just decorative.—
Caron Golden,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Sep. 2025
-
Locally heavy rain will quickly reduce visibility and result in ponding of water on roadways, standing water in low lying areas, and minor flooding of creeks, streams, and areas of poor drainage.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
6 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rill.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rill. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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