riverbed

noun

riv·​er·​bed ˈri-vər-ˌbed How to pronounce riverbed (audio)
Synonyms of riverbednext
: the channel occupied by a river

Examples of riverbed in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Now, the missing man has been found dead in a San Diego riverbed, officials with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Tuesday. — Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026 Port-au-Prince, Haiti — Trees wrap around buildings, roots sprout from riverbeds of plastic trash, and vines creep down the street. — Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2026 In Sakarya province, around 150 kilometers (93 miles) east of Istanbul, a two-story house that was built on a riverbed collapsed in the floods, HaberTurk television reported. — ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026 The sands are the result of tens of millions of years of exposure to wind, water, and gravity crumbling mineral-rich rocks into grains, which then accumulated in coastal areas or alongside riverbeds. — Glenn Zorpette, IEEE Spectrum, 15 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for riverbed

Word History

First Known Use

1781, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of riverbed was in 1781

Rhymes for riverbed

See All Rhymes for riverbed

Browse Nearby Words

river basin
riverbed
river birch
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Riverbed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/riverbed. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

riverbed

noun
riv·​er·​bed -ˌbed How to pronounce riverbed (audio)
: the channel occupied or once occupied by a river

More from Merriam-Webster on riverbed

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for riverbed

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All