Potomac

American  

[puh-toh-muhk] / pəˈtoʊ mək /

noun

1. a river flowing SE from the Allegheny Mountains in West Virginia, along the boundary between Maryland and Virginia to the Chesapeake Bay. 287 miles (460 km) long.

2. a city in central Maryland, near Washington, D.C.

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Potomac British  

/ pəˈtəʊmək /

noun

1. a river in the E central US, rising in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia: flows northeast, then generally southeast to Chesapeake Bay. Length (from the confluence of headstreams): 462 km (287 miles)

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Example Sentences

The arch, resembling the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, is proposed for a traffic circle on Columbia Island, which sits in the Potomac River that hugs Washington.

From Barron's • Apr. 11, 2026

Trump has also proposed building an enormous, 250-foot tall "Independence Arch" -- reminiscent of Paris' Arc de Triomphe -- on the bank of the Potomac River near the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

Now he’s pulled off the track equivalent with the announcement that 2024 Olympian Quincy Wilson, from Bullis School in Potomac, Md., is coming on April 11 to compete at the Arcadia Invitational at Arcadia High.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 29, 2026

Dean Naujoks of the Potomac Riverkeeper Network, a watchdog for the river, has called for more accountability from DC Water and state and federal agencies.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 19, 2026

In some vaguely general fashion, they understood this, regarding the construction of the District of Columbia on the Potomac as a statement of Virginia’s enduring influence over the federal government.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis