noun

river

RIH-vuh

noun

A large natural stream of water flowing across land, usually into the sea, a lake, or another river.

"The river burst its banks after days of heavy rain."

"They canoed down the river for three days."

In poker, the fifth and final community card dealt.

"He hit a flush on the river to win the pot."

How to Use River

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA large flowing body of water; in poker slang, the last card dealt.

Memory tip

Note that "river" and "rival" look similar but come from different Latin roots — river from "riverbank," rival from "stream."

Trace the full origin ↓

Common pairings

river bank down the river river delta sell someone down the river

Word Forms

rivered past tense, rivers plural, rivers plural, Rivers plural, rivers singular

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Fill the Gap

Can you complete this real example?

The _____ burst its banks after days of heavy rain.

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman rivere, ultimately from Latin riparius ("of a riverbank"), from ripa ("bank"). It is unrelated to Latin rivus ("stream"), despite the resemblance — that root instead gives us "rival."

Synonyms

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large small brooklet burnlet ree rill rith rithe rivulet runlet streamlet arroyo

Related Words

small deep full large slender huge arroyo ree

Rhymes for river

liver giver diver fiver quiver driver waiver sliver shiver Oliver deliver upriver

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