riverriv‧er /ˈrɪvə $ -ər/ ●●● S2 W2 noun [countable] 
the Mississippi River the River Thameson 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 river2a large amount of moving liquidriver of a river of hot lava flowing from the volcano → sell somebody down the river at sell1GRAMMAR: Patterns with riverin the river• You use in the river to talk about things that happen in the water: · In summer we swim in the river.· There was something floating in the river.on the river• You use on the river to talk about things that happen on the surface of a river or very close to the edge of a river: · We went boating on the river.· There’s a nice pub on the river.along the river• You use along the river to talk about things that happen on land next to a river: · They strolled along the river.· There are houses built all along the river.USAGE: Word order with names of rivers• In Britain and Europe, the name usually comes after the word ‘river’. You usually say: · the River Thames· the River Seine· the River Rhone· the River Nile· the River Ganges• In the US and outside Europe, the name usually comes before the word ‘river’. You usually say: · the Yangtze River· the Amazon River· the Congo River· the Hudson River· the Mississippi River· the Colorado RiverCOLLOCATIONSverbsa 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 seaa 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 (=travel along a river in a boat)· The narrow cliffs once made the river dangerous to navigate.adjectiveswide/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.river + NOUNthe 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.phrasesthe 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.THESAURUSriver a line of water that flows into the sea: · They crossed the river by ferry.· the River Tweed· the Yangtze rivertributary 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 estuarycanal 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 boatdelta an area of low land where a river spreads into many smaller rivers near the sea: · the Nile deltaa small riverstream a small narrow river: · a cool mountain streambrook 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.parts of a rivermouth 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.
WORD ORIGINriver
Origin:
1200-1300 Old French rivere, from Latin riparius ‘of a river bank’, from ripa ‘bank, shore’EXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
- A passenger sitting next to me flung a coin into the river with great enthusiasm.
- He lit one of his Gauloise cigarettes, sat back in his chair, and stared at the river in silence.
- In the dry season, the wonderfully cool river water is a stunning blue-green in the deep pools below the falls.
- The river was dangerous here, still gnawing at the rim of the path.
- The other rivers from the Pennines are roughly the same size.
- The toll includes drowned livestock, ruined wheat crops and boats torn from their moorings on rivers around the north state.
- Transnational oil and mining companies pollute rivers and finance grossly disruptive mines.
THESAURUS
a line of water that flows into the sea: · They crossed the river by ferry.· the River Tweed· the Yangtze river
a stream or river that flows into a larger river: · The River Trombetas is a tributary of the River Amazon.
the wide part of a river where it goes into the sea: · plans to build a big new airport on the Thames estuary
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
an area of low land where a river spreads into many smaller rivers near the sea: · the Nile delta
a small river a small narrow river: · a cool mountain stream
literary a small stream: · There was a small brook, rushing and sparkling along between green banks.
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.
parts of a river the part of a river where it joins the sea: · Havre-Marat was a port at the mouth of the River Seine.
land along the side of a river: · the river bank· He owns a chateau on the banks of the River Loire.
the place where a river or stream starts: · The source of the River Nile was discovered by a British explorer, John Speke.
Longman Language Activatorto betray a friend or someone who trusts you to be disloyal to your friends or to someone who trusts you, often causing serious harm to them as a result: · He betrayed his friends in order to save his own life. betray somebody to the police/government etc (=give the police etc information about someone): · Olga's best friend betrayed her to the secret police.betray somebody's trust/confidence/friendship etc (=betray someone who trusts you): · I still have bitter feelings for Robert. What can I say? He completely betrayed my trust.feel betrayed (=feel that someone you trust has betrayed you): · When I heard what she had said about me I felt angry and betrayed.
to betray someone who trusts you, especially someone that you work with, by saying or doing something that will cause them a lot of harm and get you an advantage: · He seems friendly, but he wouldn't hesitate to stab you in the back if he thought it would help him get your job.· Thatcher was stabbed in the back by her former friends and colleagues in the Conservative Party.
to betray a group of people who trusted you to help them, in order to gain money or power for yourself: · The workers were promised that they would not lose their jobs as a result of the merger. Later they found out that they had been sold down the river.
great disloyalty to someone who trusts you, for example by secretly tricking them, or helping their enemies: · When the king learned of his brother's treachery, he quickly ordered his execution.· After a furious argument during which he accused the prime minister of treachery, he announced that he would resign his Cabinet position.
WORD SETSabyss, nounalluvial, adjectivealluvium, nounalpine, adjectiveAmerican, adjectiveAntarctica, anticyclone, nounarchipelago, nounArctic, adjectivearid, adjectiveAsia, atlas, nounatoll, nounAustralasia, Australasian, adjectiveAustralia, avalanche, nounaxis, nounbank, nounbarometer, nounbarrier reef, nounbasin, nounbay, nounbayou, nounbeach, nounbearing, nounbed, nounbight, nounbluff, nounborder, nounborder, verbborderland, nounborderline, nounborough, nounbox canyon, nounBritish, adjectivebutte, nouncanyon, nouncape, nouncapital, nouncardinal point, nounCaribbean, adjectivecartography, nouncay, nounchain, nounchaparral, nounchart, nounchasm, nounchimney, nounChinese, adjectivecirrus, nounCIS, nouncliff, nounclimate, nounclimatic, adjectivecoastal, adjectivecoastline, nouncockney, nouncol, nouncold front, nouncommuter belt, nouncompass, nounconfluence, nouncontinent, nouncontinental, adjectivecontinental shelf, nouncontour, nounconurbation, nouncoordinate, nouncorridor, nouncorrie, nouncoterminous, adjectivecouncil estate, nouncountry, nouncounty, nouncounty town, nouncourse, nouncove, nouncrag, nouncraggy, adjectivecreek, nouncrevasse, nouncrevice, nouncumulus, nouncyclone, noundateline, noundelta, noundesert, noundesert island, noundevelopment, noundistrict, noundivide, noundown, adverbdune, noundust bowl, nouneast, nouneast, adjectiveeast, adverbeastbound, adjectiveeasterly, adjectiveeasterly, nouneastern, adjectiveEasterner, nouneasternmost, adjectiveeastwards, adverbelevation, nouneminence, nounenvirons, nounequatorial, adjectiveerode, verberosion, nounescarpment, nounestuary, nounEurope, nounextraterritorial, adjectiveeyot, nounface, nounfarmland, nounfeeder, nounfiord, nounfirth, nounfjord, nounflood plain, nounfluvial, adjectivefrontier, nounfrontiersman, noungale force, adjectivegap, noungeo-, prefixgeography, noungeophysics, noungeopolitics, noungeyser, nounglacial, adjectiveglaciation, nounglacier, nounglobe, noungoldfield, noungorge, noungrassland, nounGrecian, adjectivegreen belt, noungrid, noungrotto, noungroundwater, noungulch, noungulf, noungully, nounhead, nounheadland, nounheadwaters, nounheartland, nounhemisphere, nounhighland, adjectivehighlands, nounhigh water mark, nounhinterland, nounHome Counties, the, homeland, nounhurricane, noun-i, suffixIberian, adjectiveiceberg, nounice cap, nounice floe, nounice pack, nounice sheet, nouninhabitant, nouninland, adjectiveinland, adverbinlet, nouninner city, nouninshore, adverbinsular, adjectiveintercontinental, adjectiveInternational Date Line, nounisland, nounisle, nounislet, nounisobar, nounIsraeli, adjectiveIsraeli, nounisthmus, nounItalian, adjectiveItalianate, adjectiveItalo-, prefixJapanese, adjectivekey, nounknoll, nounlagoon, nounlake, nounlandlocked, adjectivelandmass, nounlandslide, nounlandslip, nounlat., Latin, adjectiveLatin America, nounLatin American, adjectivelatitude, nounlevee, nounlittoral, nounlong., longitude, nounlongitudinal, adjectivelough, nounlowlands, nounlow-lying, adjectivelow water mark, nounmagnetic north, nounmagnetic pole, nounmarsh, nounmarshland, nounmeander, verbMediterranean, adjectiveMercator projection, nounmeridian, nounmesa, nounMiddle America, nounmidtown, adjectivemonsoon, nounmoorland, nounmorass, nounmountain, nounmountainside, nounmountaintop, nounmouth, nounmudslide, nounmull, nounnarrows, nounnavigation, nounNE, neck, nounnor'-, prefixnorth, nounnorth, adjectivenorth, adverbNorth America, nounnortheast, nounnortheast, adjectivenortheasterly, adjectivenortheastern, adjectivenortheastwards, adverbnortherly, adjectivenorthern, adjectivenortherner, nounnorthernmost, adjectivenorthwards, adverbnorthwest, nounnorthwest, adjectivenorthwesterly, adjectivenorthwestern, adjectivenorthwestwards, adverbnotch, nounNW, NZ, oasis, nounoccidental, nounocean, nounonshore, adjectiveopenness, nounOrdnance Survey map, nounoriental, adjectiveoutcrop, nounoverspill, nounpack ice, nounpaddy, nounpalisade, nounpan-, prefixpanhandle, nounparallel, nounpeak, nounpeninsula, nounPersian, adjectivephysical geography, nounplain, nounplateau, nounpoint, nounpolar, adjectivepole, nounpolitical geography, nounpollutant, nounpop., populate, verbpopulation, nounprairie, nounprecipice, nounprecipitation, nounPrime Meridian, principality, nounprojection, nounpromontory, nounprovince, nounprovincial, adjectivepueblo, nounR, rainfall, nounrain forest, nounrain gauge, nounrainstorm, nounrange, nounravine, nounreef, nounreference, nounregion, nounregional, adjectiverelief map, nounreservoir, nounresettle, verbresidential, adjectiveresource, nounridge, nounrift valley, nounrise, verbriver, nounriver basin, nounriver bed, nounRoman, adjectiverotation, nounrugged, adjectiverun-off, nounrural, adjectivesand, nounsand bar, nounsandstorm, nounsandy, adjectivesavanna, nounScandinavian, nounscar, nounscarp, nounscree, nounscrubland, nounSE, seaboard, nounsea breeze, nounseafront, nounsea level, nounseaport, nounseaward, adjectivesection, nounsemitropical, adjectiveshelf, nounslough, nounsmog, nounsnowfield, nounsource, nounsouth, nounsouth, adjectivesouth, adverbSouth America, adjectivesoutheast, nounsoutheast, adjectivesoutheasterly, adjectivesoutheastern, adjectivesoutheastwards, adverbsoutherly, adjectivesouthern, adjectivesouthernmost, adjectivesouthwards, adverbsouthwest, nounsouthwest, adjectivesouthwesterly, adjectivesouthwestern, adjectivesouthwestwards, adverbspeleology, nounspit, nounspur, nounstrait, nounsubcontinent, nounsubtropical, adjectivesuburb, nounsuburban, adjectivesummit, nounsurvey, nounsurvey, verbSW, swamp, nountableland, nounterrain, nounterritory, nountidal, adjectivetidal wave, nountidewater, nountime zone, nountop, nountopography, nountor, nountornado, nountown, nountown centre, nountowpath, nountrack, nountract, nountrade route, nountrail, nountransatlantic, adjectivetranscontinental, adjectivetributary, nountropic, nountropical, adjectivetundra, nountyphoon, nounUK, the, uncharted, adjectiveup, adverbup-country, adjectiveuplands, nounupper, adjectiveupriver, adverbupstate, adjectiveupstream, adverbuptown, adverburban, adjectiveurbanized, adjectiveurban renewal, nounurban sprawl, nounUS, the, adjectivevalley, nounW, warm front, nounwaste, adjectivewasteland, nounwater, verbwatercourse, nounwaterfall, nounwaterfront, nounwaterhole, nounwatering place, nounwater meadow, nounwatershed, nounwater table, nounwaterway, nounweather vane, nounwest, nounwest, adjectiveWest, nounwestern, adjectiveWesterner, nounwesternmost, adjectivewestward, adverbwilderness, nounwolds, nounzoning, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRYverbs fish living on the sea bottom It’s easy to have an accident just crossing the road. He was hit by a car when he tried to cross over the road near Euston station. Canals divert water from the Truckee River into the lake. The project’s aim is to clean up polluted land.
· The River Avon flows through the town of Stratford.
(=it flows in a particular direction)· the place where the river runs into the sea
(=it turns and curves, rather than going in a straight line)· He could see the river winding across the plain.
· There are fears that the river could flood.
· Further downstream the river has dried up completely several times in recent years.
(=it becomes narrower)· The river narrows at this point.
formal (=it starts there)· The River Euphrates rises in Turkey and flows through Syria.
· Cross the river by the road bridge and then turn right.
(=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.
(=travel along a river in a boat)· The narrow cliffs once made the river dangerous to navigate.
adjectives· We crossed the wide River Rhone the following morning.
· The Severn is the longest river in Britain.
(=containing more water than usual)· After the rains, the river was swollen.· The river was high and running quite swiftly.
· The child fell into a fast-flowing river.
(=very big and impressive)· Cairo sits at the mouth of the mighty river Nile.
(=people are able to travel along it in a boat)· The river is navigable in the winter months.
river + NOUN· Crowds lined the river banks to watch the boat race.
(=the bottom of a river)· They walked along a dry river bed.
· They came to a wide river valley.
phrases (=the land near a river)· He bought a house on the banks of the River Wye.
(=where it joins the sea)· The Statue of Liberty stands at the mouth of the Hudson River.
(=the place where it starts)· Where exactly is the source of the River Ganges?
(=the upper, lower etc parts)· We sailed down the lower reaches of the river.
· He rounded a bend in the river and saw Flora sitting there.
British English (=it is very full and the water is flowing very quickly)· The snow had just melted and the rivers were in spate.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES fish living on the sea bottom It’s easy to have an accident just crossing the road. He was hit by a car when he tried to cross over the road near Euston station.· Ocean currents carry young fish out to sea.
Canals divert water from the Truckee River into the lake. (=the land next to a river etc)· We sat down at the water’s edge.
· Pike are river fish.
The project’s aim is to clean up polluted land.· The National Rivers Authority tests levels of water pollution.
· The route passes through beautiful wooded river valleys.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE· Next, the region became the delta of a great river.· Nuln is the second biggest city of the Reikland and like Altdorf it sits astride the great river Reik.· The Oceanids, the nymphs of this great river, were their daughters.· He opened the door of a big airy room with views down to the great river itself.· Round about Grace herself the great river deposited little but mounds of plastic containers.· How much greater is the river flow in January compared with that in June?
NOUN· She went for him now, on the grassy river bank, surprising staider strolling couples.· It started a fire which spread to the river bank.· But the best place was the river bank.· They built their homes out of the materials of the river bank itself.· For example, mink have been radio-tracked along river banks inside major cities.· It will include development of canal and river banks and extensive landscaping.· Cross the stones then turn left to walk along the river bank.· After the attack another lorry driver saw a man of the same height scrambling away from the river bank.
· A considerable amount of time and money has been spent in pursuing the study of river basin dynamics.· In the early 1940s, the Bureau devised the plan of considering an entire river basin as an integrated project.· The results from the model can be used to answer questions relating to the long-term behaviour of the river basin.· Another use of the simulation model might be to assess the effect of increasing the urban area lying within a river basin.· The river basin is a well-defined spatial unit that is of great interest to hydrologists, geomorphologists and geographers.
· A particularly interesting feature of the trestle piers was the method used for founding them on irregular river beds.· These species do not grow in association with Lagenandra and Hygrophila because they do not occur in river beds.· By 1803 the river beds, in some parts of the city, were two or three metres above the city.· The cryptocorynes occur mainly in cultures of single species on overgrown river beds and are exposed to the conditions of amphibious life.· It was thus possible to assemble a bridge pier and lower it complete on to the river bed.· The entrepreneur made a million dollars out of Pet Rocks-rocks that you could find in any river bed.· To my astonishment I find that we use the river bed as a road.· By proceeding a little further, a scrambling descent to the river bed may be made.
· At Pevensey, reclamation of the adjacent estuary had reduced tidal scouring, which had previously kept the river mouth open.· On Romney Marsh, silting of river mouths was worsened by the problem of peat shrinkage.· On the other hand, once clear of the river mouth, he could sail a clear reach for Key Canaka.· Trent believed that they were less than two miles from the river mouth.· It seems unlikely that 69 could be taken to include river mouths.· Visualising the chart, he calculated the distance to the Makaa river mouth at about twelve miles.
· Six species of fish are found only in the Mamberamo river system.· The principal river systems and their major tributaries are described below.· In tracing characteristic source-specific sub-populations of sediment passing through a river system the closest possible spacing of sieves may be required.· The park was formed to preserve for ever the spectacular countryside, lakes and river systems created in the wake of the glacier.· There were obvious oxbow lakes and many river systems.· It exists only in the river systems of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra.
· All records are for the river valleys, levels, or the coast.· As the climate gradually became cooler and more moist, humans again moved in, usually following river valleys.· The city of Belfast has a magnificent setting, ringed by high hills, sea lough and river valley.· The truck roared and ripped down the last descent to the river valley.· In most cases these are agricultural groups clinging to river valleys where water and nutrient rich soils are plentiful.· Around the coast and in river valleys there are stretches of tropical jungle with pythons and other snakes.· Nowhere up ahead did I see anything that looked like a river valley.
VERB· Chariots can not move over obstacles or difficult terrain except to cross a river at a bridge or ford.· They immediately crossed the river and fired several houses in the village of DeSoto, so as to illuminate the river.· The Earl Siward and his Northumbrian army have crossed the river Tweed.· Her three children she had already packed into a wagonload of others in a caravan of Negroes crossing the river.· How was she to cross the river?· Did you see the truck that was crossing the river and crashed through the ice?· Follow the south shore, crossing the river where it is shallow enough.· Carrying a child on his shoulders, he also crossed a billowing river on his knees.
· The clean water can then flow back into the river.· The streets flowed with rivers of women dressed in their plain black dresses, all on their way to work.· Enjoy flowing with the river for as long as you wish - then gently come back to the room.· Ejected from our bodies, the spirit flows out on the river of blood, losing its name and its place.· The chemical effluent from the process flows untreated into the rivers.· The mine was shut down last August after a spill of polluted water from a waste pond flowed into a nearby river.
· The Clyde cycleway provides a traffic-free route from Glasgow centre and follows the river Clyde to its source.· As the climate gradually became cooler and more moist, humans again moved in, usually following river valleys.· We were deployed to follow the river.· They followed rivers for convenience, then struck out in a straight line, bisecting mountain ranges, cutting watersheds in half.· Then follow the river to Mertoun Bridge.· And because the railroads often followed river valleys, not many homestead acres lay in well-watered bottomlands.
· It says that the company razed forests, polluted rivers, retarded crop growth and caused birth defects.· Businesses that polluted the river were fined.· Transnational oil and mining companies pollute rivers and finance grossly disruptive mines.· The River Doe Lea is much more polluted than all other rivers in the area.· Water rising through abandoned mines could pollute rivers, kill wildlife and contaminate drinking water.
· Mr Camdessus, the blood is so much, you know, it runs in rivers.· Shadows ran down like rivers from the airy uplands, filling the depths with a gathering chill.· Wally walked me over to the steel pipes running horizontally along the river side of the promenade.· The Dvortsovaya runs along the Neva river and in front of the State Hermitage.· All that snow in New Hampshire is running for the river.· Far below, leaves blew across the concourse, piling against the railings which ran beside an inhospitable river Thames.· They say we need more rain because most of the downpour will run down the rivers to the sea.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
1a natural and continuous flow of water in a long line across a country into the sea: - Police were still dragging lakes all over the Catskills.
- The workers were promised that they would not lose their jobs as a result of the merger. Later they found out that they had been sold down the river.
the Mississippi River the River Thameson 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 river2a large amount of moving liquidriver of a river of hot lava flowing from the volcano → sell somebody down the river at sell1GRAMMAR: Patterns with riverin the river• You use in the river to talk about things that happen in the water: · In summer we swim in the river.· There was something floating in the river.on the river• You use on the river to talk about things that happen on the surface of a river or very close to the edge of a river: · We went boating on the river.· There’s a nice pub on the river.along the river• You use along the river to talk about things that happen on land next to a river: · They strolled along the river.· There are houses built all along the river.USAGE: Word order with names of rivers• In Britain and Europe, the name usually comes after the word ‘river’. You usually say: · the River Thames· the River Seine· the River Rhone· the River Nile· the River Ganges• In the US and outside Europe, the name usually comes before the word ‘river’. You usually say: · the Yangtze River· the Amazon River· the Congo River· the Hudson River· the Mississippi River· the Colorado RiverCOLLOCATIONSverbsa 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 seaa 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 (=travel along a river in a boat)· The narrow cliffs once made the river dangerous to navigate.adjectiveswide/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.river + NOUNthe 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.phrasesthe 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.THESAURUSriver a line of water that flows into the sea: · They crossed the river by ferry.· the River Tweed· the Yangtze rivertributary 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 estuarycanal 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 boatdelta an area of low land where a river spreads into many smaller rivers near the sea: · the Nile deltaa small riverstream a small narrow river: · a cool mountain streambrook 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.parts of a rivermouth 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.