Meaning & use
Loire River
Last updated
Meaning
proper nounproper
The longest river in France, flowing north then west to the Atlantic Ocean.
Grammar: Used with 'the': the Loire River, or simply the Loire.
Patterns
- the Loire River
- cross the Loire River
- along the Loire River
The Loire River runs through some of France's most famous wine regions.
We cycled along the Loire River for a week last summer.
Several beautiful castles stand near the Loire River.
Common combinations
- the Loire Valley
- The Loire Valley is known for its grand châteaux and vineyards.
- cross the Loire River
- The bridge lets drivers cross the Loire River in a few minutes.
- the banks of the Loire
- We had a picnic on the banks of the Loire.
- flow into the Atlantic
- The Loire flows into the Atlantic near Nantes.
Synonyms and how they differ
- the Loire
- The short form is more common in everyday speech; use 'Loire River' when you want to make clear it is a river.
Commonly confused: Loire River or Loire? Loire River or Loir?
Loire River vs Loire
'Loire' alone can also mean the French department or the wine region, not just the river.
Loire River vs Loir
The Loir is a different, smaller French river; the spelling has no 'e' at the end.
Practice
Which sentence uses the name correctly?
Choose one answer.
River names of this type take 'the': the Loire River. Option 2 misses 'the', option 3 wrongly uses 'a', and option 4 puts the words in the wrong order.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Loire River”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.