riv‧er S2 W2 / rɪvə $ -ər / 名词 [可数名词]

1 a natural and continuous flow of water in a long line across a country into the sea → stream :

the Mississippi River

the River Thames

on 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 river ► Be careful about word order with river names - you say the River Thames, the River Nile, the River Amazon etc, but the Hudson River, the Mississippi River etc.

2 a large amount of moving liquid

river of

a river of hot lava flowing from the volcano

→ sell somebody down the river at sell 1 ( 10 )

COLLOCATIONS

动词

a 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 sea

a 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 (= to travel along a river ) The narrow cliffs once made the river dangerous to navigate.

形容词

wide/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 + NOUN

the 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.

短语

the 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.

THESAURUS

river a line of water that flows into the sea : They crossed the river by ferry. | the River Tweed | the Yangtze river

tributary 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 estuary

canal 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

delta an area of low land where a river spreads into many smaller rivers near the sea : the Nile delta

a small river

stream a small narrow river : a cool mountain stream

brook 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 river

mouth 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.