student asking question

What's the difference between "creek", "stream" and "river"?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

A “river” is a large body of water that flows into the sea, lake, or another river. It usually has branches of rivers connected to it. A “creek” is shallow and smaller than a river. It does not have tributaries. A stream refers to a body of water that flows, so a large river could be called a “stream”. It is common to refer to small and narrow rivers as “streams” as well. Ex: James went kayaking on the river today. Ex: My friends and I made little paper boats to play with at the creek.

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