river
Pluralrivers
Pluralrivers
Formsrivers, rivering, rivered
- 1A large natural stream of water flowing across land, usually down to the sea or a lake.
Like a long road for water, leading from the hills down to the sea.
The river flooded its banks after three days of heavy rain.
Children waded in the shallow river near the campsite.
UsageSay the before a river's name: the Nile.
Similarwaterway, watercourse
Note
- 2A large amount of any liquid moving together as one stream.
Like a stream of something other than water: mud, lava, or even tears.
A river of mud poured down the hillside after the storm.
Hot lava flowed in a slow river toward the village.
UsageSay a river of something.
- 3The last card dealt out in a hand of poker.
He needed a heart on the river to complete his flush.
The river gave her the card she had been hoping for.
UsageSay on the river.
Note
Less common meanings
- 4To win against another player by getting a better hand on the last card.
She rivered him with a lucky last card and took the whole pot.
If you river me again, I'm done playing for the night.
UsageSay he rivered me.
Note
- 5A line of white space that seems to run down a page when word gaps line up across rows.
Like a thin gap of white running down the page, the way a stream runs through land.
The designer adjusted the spacing to remove an ugly river from the paragraph.
A wide river of white space ran down the middle of the column.
Note
- 6
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origins
It came through Middle English and Anglo-Norman from Latin words for a riverbank, starting with rīpa meaning "river bank".
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
- River came through Middle English and Anglo-Norman from Latin riverbank terminology. en.wiktionary.org
- The Latin derivation starts with rīpa, meaning “river bank”. en.wiktionary.org
It comes from the verb "rive" plus the ending "-er".
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact
- River, meaning someone who rives or splits, comes from the verb rive plus the suffix -er. en.wiktionary.org