Definitions for River
ˈrɪv ərRiv·er

Princeton's WordNet(3.50 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. river(noun)

   a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek)

   "the river was navigable for 50 miles"

Wiktionary(2.60 / 5 votes)Rate this definition:

1. river(Noun)

   A large and often winding stream which drains a land mass, carrying water down from higher areas to a lower point, ending at an ocean or in an inland sea. Occasionally rivers overflow their banks and cause floods.

   Etymology: From riviere, from *, from riparius, from riparia, from ripa, from rei-.

2. river(Noun)

   Any large flow of a liquid in a single body (e.g., 'a river of blood').

   Etymology: From riviere, from *, from riparius, from riparia, from ripa, from rei-.

3. river(Noun)

   The last card dealt in a hand.

   Etymology: From riviere, from *, from riparius, from riparia, from ripa, from rei-.

4. river(Verb)

   To improve one's hand to beat another player on the final card in a poker game.

   Johnny rivered me by drawing that Ace of spades

   Etymology: From riviere, from *, from riparius, from riparia, from ripa, from rei-.

Webster Dictionary(4.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. River(noun)

   one who rives or splits

   Etymology: [F. rivre a river, LL. riparia river, bank of a river, fr. L. riparius belonging to a bank or shore, fr. ripa a bank or shore; of uncertain origin. Cf. Arrive, Riparian.]

2. River(noun)

   a large stream of water flowing in a bed or channel and emptying into the ocean, a sea, a lake, or another stream; a stream larger than a rivulet or brook

   Etymology: [F. rivre a river, LL. riparia river, bank of a river, fr. L. riparius belonging to a bank or shore, fr. ripa a bank or shore; of uncertain origin. Cf. Arrive, Riparian.]

3. River(noun)

   fig.: A large stream; copious flow; abundance; as, rivers of blood; rivers of oil

   Etymology: [F. rivre a river, LL. riparia river, bank of a river, fr. L. riparius belonging to a bank or shore, fr. ripa a bank or shore; of uncertain origin. Cf. Arrive, Riparian.]

4. River(verb)

   to hawk by the side of a river; to fly hawks at river fowl

   Etymology: [F. rivre a river, LL. riparia river, bank of a river, fr. L. riparius belonging to a bank or shore, fr. ripa a bank or shore; of uncertain origin. Cf. Arrive, Riparian.]

Freebase(3.00 / 4 votes)Rate this definition:

1. River

   A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely at the end of its course, and does not reach another body of water. Small rivers may be called by several other names, including stream, creek, brook, rivulet, and rill. There are no official definitions for generic terms, such as river, as applied to geographic features, although in some countries or communities a stream may be defined by its size. Many names for small rivers are specific to geographic location; examples are "run" in the United States, "burn" in Scotland and northeast England, and "beck" in northern England. Sometimes a river is defined as being larger than a creek, but not always: the language is vague. Rivers are part of the hydrological cycle. Water generally collects in a river from precipitation through a drainage basin from surface runoff and other sources such as groundwater recharge, springs, and the release of stored water in natural ice and snowpacks. Potamology is the scientific study of rivers while limnology is the study of inland waters in general.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. River

   riv′ėr, n. a large running stream of water.—adj. Riv′erain, riparian.—ns. Riv′er-bank, the bank of a river; Riv′er-bās′in, the whole region drained by a river and its affluents; Riv′er-bed, the channel in which a river flows; Riv′er-birch, the red birch; Riv′er-bott′om, the alluvial land along the margin of a river; Riv′er-carp, the common carp; Riv′er-chub, the horny-head or jerker; Riv′er-course, the bed of a river; Riv′er-crab, a fresh-water crab; Riv′er-craft, small vessels which ply on rivers; Riv′er-cray′fish, a crayfish proper; Riv′er-dol′phin, a Gangetic dolphin; Riv′er-drag′on (Milt.), a crocodile; Riv′er-duck, a fresh-water duck; Riv′eret, Riv′erling, a small river; Riv′er-flat, alluvial land along a river; Riv′er-god, the tutelary deity of a river; Riv′er-head, the spring of a river; Riv′er-hog, the capybara; Riv′er-horse, the hippopotamus.—adj. Riv′erine, pertaining to, or resembling, a river.—ns. Riv′er-jack, the common water-snake of Europe; Riv′er-man, one who makes his livelihood by dragging the river for sunken goods; River-muss′el, a fresh-water mussel; Riv′er-ott′er, the common European otter; Riv′er-perch, a Californian surf-fish; Riv′er-pie, the water-ousel; Riv′er-shore, the shore or bank of a river; Riv′er-side, the bank of a river; Riv′er-smelt, the gudgeon; Riv′er-snail, a pond snail; Riv′er-swall′ow, the sand-martin; Riv′er-tide, the tide from the sea rising or ebbing in a river; Riv′er-tor′toise, a soft-shelled turtle; Riv′er-wall, a wall made to confine the waters of a river within definite bounds.—adj. Riv′ery, pertaining to rivers, like rivers. [Fr. rivière (It. riviera, shore, river)—Low L. riparia, a shore district—L. ripa, a bank.]

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. river

   A body of water.

   The river brings much freedom and joy to the children during the various seasons.

   Submitted by MaryC on March 17, 2020  

Suggested Resources(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. river

   Song lyrics by river -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by river on the Lyrics.com website.

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'River' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1050

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'River' in Written Corpus Frequency: #1850

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'River' in Nouns Frequency: #389

How to pronounce River?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say River in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of River in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of River in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of River in a Sentence

1. Carlos Nunez:

   The Magdalena River will transform Colombia, it's our salvation.

2. Donald Houghton:

   It's just a one-of-a-kind thing, running a true steamboat in the Port of New Orleans with a busy harbor, showing people the Mississippi River.

3. Jorge Londono:

   We are working jointly with all institutions on the worst-case scenario, which is the breaking of the dam, which would provoke a huge flood in down-river municipalities, that's a catastrophic scenario.

4. Amy Klobuchar:

   The Mississippi River, all our rivers connect us, to one another. To our shared story, for that is how this country was founded, with patriots who saw more that united them than divided them.

5. Steve Bowen:

   Steve Bowen, director and meteorologist at Aons impact forecasting team, said in a news release. WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS OF 2019 : HERE ARE THE BIGGEST MOMENTS, FROM POLAR VORTEX TO HURRICANE DORIAN The area that was worst hit in the last decade was the Asia-Pacific region, which accounted for 44 percent of the total amount of economic losses, according to the report. In 2019 one of the greatest disasters was when Typhoon Hagibis struck Japan in October, causing 99 deaths and $ 15 billion in economic losses. ( National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Satellites - Public Affairs) In 2019, one of the greatest disasters was when Typhoon Hagibis struck Japan in October, causing 99 deaths and $ 15 billion in economic losses. In its report, Aon said intense weather events, bigger populations in the path of disasters and greater supply chain disruption in a globalized economy contributed to the sharp rise in overall economic damage. The runway at Offutt Air Force Base can be seen covered by floodwaters from the Missouri River during flooding in 2019. ( 55th Wing Commander/Facebook) The costliest individual disaster in 2019 was inland flooding, which created losses of $ 82 billion, while tropical cyclones caused economic losses globally around $ 68 billion. In the U.S., floodingspawned by the bomb cyclonein the Midwest caused economic losses of over $ 20 billion, the report noted. 10 DEADLIEST US TORNADOES ON RECORD According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2019 was the second-hottest year in the agencys 140-year climate record, just behind 2016. The agency also noted that the worlds five warmest years have all occurred since 2015, with nine of the 10 warmest years occurring since 2005. Scientific research indicates that climate change will continue to affect all types of weather phenomena and subsequently impact increasingly urbanized areas.

Images & Illustrations of River

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