- river
- nounADJECTIVE▪ broad, great, large, long, mighty, wide▪
the mighty River Nile
▪The river was too wide to swim across comfortably.
▪ major▪major rivers such as the Congo
▪ little, narrow, small▪ deep▪ shallow▪ high▪The river is still high after the recent rain.
▪ low▪ fast-flowing▪ raging, rushing, white-water, wild▪ flowing, free-flowing▪ lazy, slow-moving, sluggish▪ frozen, icy▪ meandering, winding▪ swollen▪The river was swollen after the floods.
▪ navigable▪The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons.
▪ underground▪ coastal, mountain▪ freshwater▪ tidal▪ polluted▪ sacred▪the Ganges and other sacred rivers
▪ salmonVERB + RIVER▪ cross, ford, get across▪We crossed the river by boat.
▪How are we going to get across the river?
▪ swim▪We had to swim the river. which is deep and very rapid.
▪ follow▪I had decided to follow the river to my destination.
▪ bridge▪They've bridged the river at four points.
▪ span▪The bridge once spanned the river Serein.
▪ dam▪Wildlife groups are protesting against the proposal to dam the river.
▪ divert▪plans to divert the river further north
▪ dredge▪They're dredging the river to make it safer for larger boats.
▪ navigate▪The rocks make the river hard to navigate.
RIVER + VERB▪ flow, run, wind▪This river flows into the Gulf of Mexico.
▪A river runs through the field.
▪The river winds its way through the hills.
▪ rise▪The river has risen with the rains.
▪The river rises in central Africa.
▪ be in flood (BrE), burst its banks, flood (sth), overflow sth▪The river had overflowed its banks.
▪ dry up▪This river dried up long ago.
RIVER + NOUN▪ bank▪ bed, bottom▪ water▪ level▪when the river level is low
▪ basin, channel, delta, mouth, plain, valley▪ system▪ crossing▪ barge, boat, steamer▪ traffic▪ cruise, trip▪ rock (esp. AmE)▪as smooth as river rocks
▪ city, port, town▪a river town in Borneo
PREPOSITION▪ across a/the river▪There's a bridge across the river.
▪ along a/the river, down a/the river▪We walked along the river.
▪They sailed down the river.
▪ down by a/the river, down to a/the river▪Let's go down to the river at sunset.
▪ into a/the river▪He dived into the river.
▪ in a/the river▪Trout live in this river.
▪ on a/the river▪There was a boat on the river.
▪ up a/the river▪We were sailing up the river.
▪ river of (figurative)▪a river of lava
PHRASES▪ the banks, bottom, middle, side, surface, etc. of a river, the river's edge▪They were waiting for us on the other side of the river.
▪ a bend in the river▪ the course of a river, the direction of a river
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
