Elbe

American

[el-buh, elb] / ˈɛl bə, ɛlb /

noun

a river in central Europe, flowing from the W Czech Republic NW through Germany to the North Sea. 725 miles (1,165 km) long.

Elbe British

/ ɛlb, ˈɛlbə /

noun

Czech name: Labe. a river in central Europe, rising in the N Czech Republic and flowing generally northwest through Germany to the North Sea at Hamburg. Length: 1165 km (724 miles)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

People in northern Germany flocked to the Elbe river Monday to marvel at giant Arctic-style ice floes that have clogged up a stretch of the waterway, creating a headache for shipping but delighting visitors.

From Barron's • Jan. 19, 2026

The new questionnaire is aimed in part at prompting a shift in the mindset of young people, said Martin Elbe, a sociologist at the Center for Military History and Social Sciences of the Bundeswehr.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 18, 2026

In Germany, this includes the Moselle and the upper reaches of the Elbe.

From Science Daily • Mar. 27, 2024

MacCallum was freed on the banks of the River Elbe, while Weiler was liberated near Munich.

From BBC • May 5, 2023

Years later nearly all of them remembered the voyage up the Elbe that night as one of the highlights of the trip.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023