river
[noun]
Synonyms:
- stream, brook, burn (Scot.), creek, tributary, waterway
- flow, flood, rush, spate, torrent

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English Thesaurus: river, tributary, estuary, canal, delta, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

riv‧er S2 W2 /ˈrɪvə $ -ər/ noun [countable]
[Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old French; Origin: rivere, from Latin riparius 'of a river bank', from ripa 'bank, shore']

1. a natural and continuous flow of water in a long line across a country into the sea ⇒ stream:
the Mississippi River
the River Thames
on a river
There were several boats on the river.
along a river
We went for a walk along the river.
up/down (a) river
a ship sailing up river
They drifted slowly down river.
across a river
a bridge across the river
► Be careful about word order with river names - you say the River Thames, the River Nile, the River Amazon etc, but the Hudson River, the Mississippi River etc.

2. a large amount of moving liquid
river of
a river of hot lava flowing from the volcano
⇒ sell somebody down the river at sell¹(10)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

river
noun
ADJ. broad, great, large, long, mighty, wide the mighty River Nile The river was too wide to swim across comfortably.
little, narrow, short, small | deep | shallow | high The river is still high after the recent rain.
low | fast-flowing | slow-moving, sluggish | winding | swollen The river was swollen after the floods.
navigable The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons.
VERB + RIVER cross, ford, get across We crossed the river by ferry. How are we going to get across the river?
bridge They've bridged the river at four points.
dam Wildlife groups are protesting against the proposal to dam the river.
dredge They're dredging the river to make it safer for larger boats.
navigate The rocks and sandbanks make the river hard to navigate.
RIVER + VERB flow, run, wind This river flows into the Mediterranean Sea. A river runs through the field. The river winds its way through the hills.
rise The river has risen with the rains. The river rises in Bulgaria and flows through Greece to the Aegean.
be in flood, burst its banks, flood (sth), overflow sth The river had overflowed its banks.
dry up This river dried up long ago.
RIVER + NOUN bank | water | valley | system | crossing | traffic
PREP. across a/the ~ There's a bridge across the river.
along a/the ~ We walked along the river.
down a/the ~, down by a/the ~, down to a/the ~ Let's go down to the river at sunset.
into a/the ~ He dived into the river.
in a/the ~ Trout live in this river.
on a/the ~ There was a rowing boat on the river.
up a/the ~ sailing up the river
~ of (figurative) a river of lava
PHRASES the banks/bottom/middle/side/surface of a river They were waiting for us on the other side of the river.
a bend in the river, the course/direction of a river, the river's edge

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

river

a river flows
The River Avon flows through the town of Stratford.
a river runs (=it flows in a particular direction )
the place where the river runs into the sea
a river winds (=it turns and curves, rather than going in a straight line)
He could see the river winding across the plain.
a river floods
There are fears that the river could flood.
a river dries up
Further downstream the river has dried up completely several times in recent years.
a river narrows (=it becomes narrower)
The river narrows at this point.
a river rises somewhere formal (=it starts there)
The River Euphrates rises in Turkey and flows through Syria.
cross a river
Cross the river by the road bridge and then turn right.
ford a river (=cross a river on foot, in a vehicle, or on a horse, without using a bridge)
The water was shallow enough for us to be able to ford the river.
navigate a river (=to travel along a river )
The narrow cliffs once made the river dangerous to navigate.
wide/broad
We crossed the wide River Rhone the following morning.
long
The Severn is the longest river in Britain.
swollen/high (=containing more water than usual)
After the rains, the river was swollen.
The river was high and running quite swiftly.
fast-flowing
The child fell into a fast-flowing river.
a mighty river (=very big and impressive)
Cairo sits at the mouth of the mighty river Nile.
a river is navigable (=people are able to travel along it in a boat)
The river is navigable in the winter months.
the river bank
Crowds lined the river banks to watch the boat race.
a river bed (=the bottom of a river)
They walked along a dry river bed.
a river valley
They came to a wide river valley.
the banks of a river (=the land near a river)
He bought a house on the banks of the River Wye.
the mouth of a river (=where it joins the sea)
The Statue of Liberty stands at the mouth of the Hudson River.
the source of a river (=the place where it starts)
Where exactly is the source of the River Ganges?
the upper/lower etc reaches of a river (=the upper, lower etc parts)
We sailed down the lower reaches of the river.
a bend in a river
He rounded a bend in the river and saw Flora sitting there.
a river is in spate British English (=it is very full and the water is flowing very quickly)
The snow had just melted and the rivers were in spate.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

river a line of water that flows into the sea:
They crossed the river by ferry.
the River Tweed
the Yangtze river
tributary a stream or river that flows into a larger river:
The River Trombetas is a tributary of the River Amazon.
estuary the wide part of a river where it goes into the sea:
plans to build a big new airport on the Thames estuary
canal a long passage dug into the ground and filled with water, either for boats to travel along, or to take water to a place:
Venice’s famous canals
a canal boat
delta an area of low land where a river spreads into many smaller rivers near the sea:
the Nile delta
stream a small narrow river:
a cool mountain stream
brook literary a small stream:
There was a small brook, rushing and sparkling along between green banks.
creek a narrow area of sea that goes into the land, or a small river:
The River Fal with its many creeks was a perfect place for smugglers.
The kids hunted for crabs in the muddy creek.
mouth the part of a river where it joins the sea:
Havre-Marat was a port at the mouth of the River Seine.
bank land along the side of a river:
the river bank
He owns a chateau on the banks of the River Loire.
source the place where a river or stream starts:
The source of the River Nile was discovered by a British explorer, John Speke.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲