river

noun

Definition of rivernext
1
as in canal
a passageway for water A fallen tree branch was floating down the river.

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2
as in stream
an overwhelming flow or rush of something Jet streams can be thought of as giant rivers of air that circulate around the globe. He was overwhelmed by the river of new information that the document dump provided.

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of river See a patchwork of colors on the McKenzie River National Recreation Trail, which starts in an old lava flow before weaving across its namesake river and through old-growth forests. — Stephanie Vermillion, Travel + Leisure, 10 Sep. 2026 Marker stones are a simpler, natural option made with river rocks. — Yvonne Villasenor, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2026 This time, that same music is using the city's river and skyline as the backdrop. — Marissa Sulek, CBS News, 10 Sep. 2026 Together, the fish passages have opened up more than 60 miles of river and tributaries and roughly 2,400 acres of wetland habitat for migratory fish. — Caitlin Looby, jsonline.com, 9 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for river
Recent Examples of Synonyms for river
  1. canal
  2. stream
  3. waterway
  4. flood
  5. rivulet
  6. tide
Noun
  • Nothing was mistaken at the inaugural Cartier Cinema Club dinner held at Venice’s Gritti Palace, where Chazelle’s La La Land was honored with dinner on the canal overlooking the Basilica della Salute.
    — Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 5 Sep. 2026
  • The road’s construction created a push for internal improvements in the early republic and opened the era of canal and road construction throughout the nation.
    — Abby Price, Travel + Leisure, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of canal
Noun
  • It is built around a three-stream adaptive architecture designed to provide the thrust required for high-performance flight while supporting the aircraft’s thermal and electrical demands.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 5 Sep. 2026
  • At a time when so much is made to disappear into the stream, this open call is an invitation to resist that disappearance.
    — Alessia Glaviano, Vogue, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of stream
Noun
  • The fighting has halted most shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil supply passed before the war began.
    — Cathy Bussewitz, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • The Houthis have targeted the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a waterway off the coast of Yemen that connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.
    — John Towfighi, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of waterway
Noun
  • The dam failed, triggering a catastrophic flood and contributing to failures at other dams downstream.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Now there’s widespread pushback against the flood of Chinese exports.
    — Jason Ma, Fortune, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of flood
Noun
  • Madly sentient guts spill from the sitter’s back in swollen rivulets.
    — Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 15 July 2026
  • Our beach quickly turned into a morass of clay, cut through by dozens of fast-flowing rivulets.
    — John Todd, Outdoor Life, 9 July 2026
Definition of rivulet
Noun
  • But the political tide is shifting, with cities across the country switching to holding local elections when people vote for state and federal offices, too.
    — David Greising, Chicago Tribune, 11 Sep. 2026
  • However, government forces turned the tide earlier this month, striking Houthi positions on the Red Sea, on Yemen's western coast.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of tide

Phrases Containing river

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riven
river
riverbank
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Cite this Entry

“River.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/river. Accessed 13 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on river

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about river

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