as in brook
a natural body of running water smaller than a river
there are a few tiny fish in the rill
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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
-
Its grounds held extensive gardens, a duck pond and a brook.—
Antonia Noori Farzan,
The Providence Journal,
22 Mar. 2026
-
With their tiny fences and cottages, a dozen gnomes stood stiff as if at attention yet looked so happy residing on their brook’s muddy banks.—
Chris John Amorosino,
Hartford Courant,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Police in Livonia, Michigan, are investigating after an individual was found dead in a creek on Saturday evening.—
Nick Lentz,
CBS News,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Almost a month later, she was found bludgeoned to death in a creek in eastern Williamson County.—
Claire Osborn,
Austin American Statesman,
21 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rill.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rill. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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