[riv-er] 
| 1. | a natural stream of water of fairly large size flowing in a definite course or channel or series of diverging and converging channels. |
| 2. | a similar stream of something other than water: a river of lava; a river of ice. |
| 3. | any abundant stream or copious flow; outpouring: rivers of tears; rivers of words. |
| 4. | (initial capital letter ) Astronomy. the constellation Eridanus. |
| 5. | Printing. a vertical channel of white space resulting from the alignment in several lines of spaces between words. |
| 6. | sell down the river, to betray; desert; mislead: to sell one's friends down the river. |
| 7. | up the river, Slang.
|
| sell (sěl) v. sold (sōld), sell·ing, sells v. tr.
sell offTo get rid of by selling, often at reduced prices. sell out
Idiom(s): sell a bill of goods Informal To take unfair advantage of. Idiom(s): sell down the river Informal To betray the true trust or faith of. Idiom(s): sell short
[Middle English sellen, from Old English sellan, to give, sell.] sell'a·ble adj. |
| river (rĭv'ər) Pronunciation Key
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. |
sell down the river
Betray, as in They kept the merger a secret until the last minute, so the employees who were laid off felt they'd been sold down the river. This expression, dating from the mid-1800s, alludes to slaves being sold down the Mississippi River to work as laborers on cotton plantations. Its figurative use dates from the late 1800s.