rive

/ɹaɪv/

//ɹaɪv// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"rive" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“rive” is uncommon English (frequency #57,024 among 3,094 “R” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#57,024
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To tear apart by force; to rend; to split; to cleave.

Corpus desk

Index EN-rive · rive · English

rive · rank #57,024 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #57,024
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH riposte

Nearest frequency peer: riposte (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “rive”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “rive” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for rive
PropertyValue
Headwordrive
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɹaɪv/
Letters4
Frequency rank#57,024
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “rive” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).rivefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “riposte” (#57,023), “revaluation” (#57,021), “Robbo” (#57,027). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “rive” is #57,024. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

rive is uncommon English at frequency #57,024 among 3,094 “R” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ɹaɪv/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for rive in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English riven (“to rive”), of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse rífa (“to rend, tear apart”), from Proto-Germanic *rīfaną (“to tear, scratch”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reyp- (“to crumble, tear”). Cognate with Danish rive (“to tear”), Old… The correct English form is rive, spelled R-I-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To tear apart by force; to rend; to split; to cleave.
  2. 2
    To pierce or cleave with a weapon.
  3. 3
    To break apart; to split.
  4. 4
    To burst open; explode; discharge.
  5. 5
    To use a technique of splitting or sawing wood radially from a log (e.g. clapboards).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how rive appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I have seen tempests, when the scolding winds / Have rived the knotty oaks[…]
  2. And therwith she toke the swerd from her loue that lay ded and fylle to the ground in a swowne / And whan she aroos she made grete dole out of mesure / the whiche sorowe greued Balyn passyngly sore / and he wente vnto her for to haue taken the swerd oute of her hād but[…]sodenly she sette the pomell to the ground / and rofe her self thorow the body

Etymology

From Middle English riven (“to rive”), of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse rífa (“to rend, tear apart”), from Proto-Germanic *rīfaną (“to tear, scratch”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reyp- (“to crumble, tear”). Cognate with Danish rive (“to tear”), Old Frisian rīva (“to tear”), Old English ārǣfan (“to let loose, unwrap”), Old Norse ript (“breach of contract, rift”), Norwegian Bokmål rive (“to tear”), Swedish riva (”to tear”) and Albanian rrip (“belt, rope”). More at rift.

Synonyms

cleaverendsplit

This word in other languages

aufreißen(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "rive"?
"rive" is spelled R-I-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹaɪv/.
What does "rive" mean?
As a verb, "rive" means: To tear apart by force; to rend; to split; to cleave.
How do you pronounce "rive"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "rive" is /ɹaɪv/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "rive"?
From Middle English riven (“to rive”), of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse rífa (“to rend, tear apart”), from Proto-Germanic *rīfaną (“to tear, scratch”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reyp- (“to crumble, tear”). Cognate with Danish rive (“to t... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "rive", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

ream#57,009soli#57,085Orme#56,952Orly#56,951

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list