rivers

noun

Definition of riversnext
plural of river
1
as in streams
a passageway for water A fallen tree branch was floating down the river.

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2
as in floods
an overwhelming flow or rush of something Jet streams can be thought of as giant rivers of air that circulate around the globe. He was overwhelmed by the river of new information that the document dump provided.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rivers The rocks and melted water then swelled the rivers in the valleys below, causing a torrent of water that swept buildings, bridges and earth downstream in Tibet and Nepal. — Victoria Milko, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2026 Among the missing, are more than 900 workers, like Chandra from the many hydropower projects that bore deep into the world’s highest mountain range to tap into the fearsome energy unleashed by its raging rivers. — Ross Adkin, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026 About 4 million acres in California are affected, including watersheds of the American, Rubicon and Yuba rivers. — Sacbee.com, 29 Aug. 2026 The flooding traveled from the Nepal-China border along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers. — Freddie Clayton, NBC news, 29 Aug. 2026 Their story follows their enduring commitment to restoring the rivers and forests, sustaining the cycle of rain and life. — Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 28 Aug. 2026 Yet billions of particles and strands are small enough to pass through the treatment process and flow unimpeded into lakes and rivers. — Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune, 23 Aug. 2026 According to the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs at the University of Washington, blue spaces are natural or man-made outdoor settings that feature water in the form of rivers, lakes, oceans, ponds, canals or urban fountains. — Jeffrey Steele, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026 The wreck of a steam tugboat dating from the early 1900s is the latest relic to emerge from shrinking waters in Serbia as Europe's rivers run dry, with the continent engulfed in prolonged, extreme heat and drought. — CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rivers
  1. canals
  2. floods
  3. waterways
  4. rivulets
  5. watercourses
Noun
  • The Central Arizona Project — a system of canals and pumps which carry Colorado River water 336 miles across the desert to the Phoenix and Tucson areas — will be hit the hardest by new cuts.
    — Alex Hager, NPR, 31 Aug. 2026
  • With art storage facilities, galleries, and museums clustered along its canals, Tennoz is one of Tokyo’s leading art districts.
    — The Editors of ARTnews, ARTnews.com, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of canals
Noun
  • The droughts, floods, and crop yield reductions brought on by El Niño represent one of the primary risk factors.
    — , CNBC, 3 Sep. 2026
  • The advancing gas front improves sweep efficiency by penetrating tight, unreached reservoir compartments that standard water-injection floods bypass during secondary extraction campaigns.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of floods
Noun
  • The Strait of Hormuz, which remains one of the most critical strategic waterways for global trade flows, saw oil exports hit a wartime record on Monday with more than 17 million barrels daily, Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC.
    — Justina Lee, CNBC, 3 Sep. 2026
  • But arrest affidavits accuse the parents of diverting authorities away from the South Carolina waterways during the search.
    — Matt Lavietes, NBC news, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of waterways
Noun
  • Madly sentient guts spill from the sitter’s back in swollen rivulets.
    — Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 15 July 2026
  • Our beach quickly turned into a morass of clay, cut through by dozens of fast-flowing rivulets.
    — John Todd, Outdoor Life, 9 July 2026
Definition of rivulets
Noun
  • At the same time, there are riparian natives — those that grow along watercourses — which may need regular attention in terms of water needs for many years after planting.
    — Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 8 Nov. 2025
Definition of watercourses

Browse Nearby Words

riverfronts
rivers
riverside
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Cite this Entry

“Rivers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rivers. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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