riverbed
riv·er·bed/ˈɹɪv.ɚˌbɛd/noun
riverbed is spelled R-I-V-E-R-B-E-D: 8 letters and 3 syllables (riv·er·bed). It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 48,230th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, riverbed means “The path where a river runs, or where a river once ran; the bottom earthen part of a river, not including the riverbanks” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of riverbed is riverbeds.
How many letters and syllables are in riverbed?
| Letters | 8: R-I-V-E-R-B-E-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: riv·er·bed |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 48,230th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is riverbed?
Riverbed appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 48,230th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce riverbed?
- UK /ˈɹɪv.əˌbɛd/
- US /ˈɹɪv.ɚˌbɛd/
- [ˈɹɪv.ɚˌbeː]
Riverbed has 3 syllables, split riv·er·bed in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-riverbed.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with riverbed
Also written: river-bed (one word or two).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of riverbed
- riverbeds plural
- river bed
- river-bed
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does riverbed mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The path where a river runs, or where a river once ran; the bottom earthen part of a river, not including the riverbanks.
Near-synonyms: streambed, creekbed
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Riverbed in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a river bottom:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does riverbed come from?
From river + bed. Compare Dutch rivierbedding (“riverbed”), German Flussbett (“riverbed”), Swedish flodbädd (“riverbed”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).