river

1
[ riv-er ]
/ ˈrɪv ər /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR river ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a natural stream of water of fairly large size flowing in a definite course or channel or series of diverging and converging channels.
a similar stream of something other than water: a river of lava; a river of ice.
any abundant stream or copious flow; outpouring: rivers of tears; rivers of words.
(initial capital letter) Astronomy. the constellation Eridanus.
Printing. a vertical channel of white space resulting from the alignment in several lines of spaces between words.

Idioms for river

    sell down the river, to betray; desert; mislead: to sell one's friends down the river.
    up the river, Slang.
    1. to prison: to be sent up the river for a bank robbery.
    2. in prison: Thirty years up the river had made him a stranger to society.

Origin of river

1
1250–1300; Middle English < Old French rivere, riviere < Vulgar Latin *rīpāria, noun use of feminine of Latin rīpārius riparian

OTHER WORDS FROM river

riv·er·less, adjective riv·er·like, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH river

brook creek river stream

Words nearby river

rivalry, rivals, the, rive, rivel, riven, river, river basin, river birch, river blindness, river bugging, river carpsucker

Words related to up the river

penitentiary, lockup, cell, prison, confinement, jail, dungeon, pound, solitary, cooler, stir, inside, joint, pen, stockade, reformatory, clink, brig, rack, can

British Dictionary definitions for up the river

river
/ (ˈrɪvə) /

noun

  1. a large natural stream of fresh water flowing along a definite course, usually into the sea, being fed by tributary streams
  2. (as modifier)river traffic; a river basin
  3. (in combination)riverside; riverbed Related adjectives: fluvial, potamic
any abundant stream or flow a river of blood
sell down the river informal to deceive or betray
the river poker slang the fifth and final community card to be dealt in a round of Texas hold 'em

Derived forms of river

riverless, adjective

Word Origin for river

C13: from Old French riviere, from Latin rīpārius of a river bank, from rīpa bank

Scientific definitions for up the river

river
[ rĭv′ər ]

A wide, natural stream of fresh water that flows into an ocean or other large body of water and is usually fed by smaller streams, called tributaries, that enter it along its course. A river and its tributaries form a drainage basin, or watershed, that collects the runoff throughout the region and channels it along with erosional sediments toward the river. The sediments are typically deposited most heavily along the river's lower course, forming floodplains along its banks and a delta at its mouth.

Idioms and Phrases with up the river (1 of 2)

up the river

To or in prison, as in They sent him up the river for five years. This phrase originally referred to Sing-Sing Prison, on the Hudson River about 30 miles north of New York City. So used from about 1890 on, it was broadened to apply to any prison by the early 1900s.

Idioms and Phrases with up the river (2 of 2)

river

see sell down the river; up the river.