up the river

up the riv·er

U u

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [uhp stressed th ee riv-er]
- /ʌp stressed ði ˈrɪv ər/
- /ʌp ðə ˈrɪvə(r)/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [uhp stressed th ee riv-er]
- /ʌp stressed ði ˈrɪv ər/

Definitions of up the river words

noun up the river a natural stream of water of fairly large size flowing in a definite course or channel or series of diverging and converging channels. 1
noun up the river a similar stream of something other than water: a river of lava; a river of ice. 1
noun up the river any abundant stream or copious flow; outpouring: rivers of tears; rivers of words. 1
noun up the river (initial capital letter) Astronomy. the constellation Eridanus. 1
noun up the river Printing. a vertical channel of white space resulting from the alignment in several lines of spaces between words. 1
idioms up the river sell down the river, to betray; desert; mislead: to sell one's friends down the river. 1

See all 9 definitions of up the river

Information block about the term

Origin of up the river

First appearance:

before 1250

One of the 11% oldest English words

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

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Up the river

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Up the river

up the river popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 99% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

up the river usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for up the river

noun up the river

bastille — a fortress in Paris, built in the 14th century: a prison until its destruction in 1789, at the beginning of the French Revolution
bullpen — In baseball, a bullpen is an area alongside the playing field, where pitchers can practice or warm up.
g — the seventh letter of the English alphabet, a consonant.
gs — Group Separator
guardhouse — a building used for housing military personnel on guard duty.

All 9 Synonyms of up the river