Riviera

[riv-ee-air-uh, ree-vye-rah]

noun

1. French Côte d'Azur. a resort area along the Mediterranean coast, extending from Saint Tropez, in SE France, to La Spezia, in NW Italy.

2. (often lowercase),  any similar coastal resort area.

   the Florida riviera.

riviera

¹

/ ˌrɪvɪˈɛərə /

noun

1. a coastal region reminiscent of the Riviera

Riviera

²

/ ˌrɪvɪˈɛərə /

noun

1. the Mediterranean coastal region between Cannes, France, and La Spezia, Italy: contains some of Europe's most popular resorts

Riviera

1. Narrow strip of land in southeastern France and northwestern Italy on the Mediterranean Sea, also including Monaco. Cannes, Monte Carlo, and Nice are three of its best-known towns and cities.

Its scenic beauty and mild climate make it a popular vacation area.

The French Riviera is also called the Côte d'Azur (the azure coast).

Word History and Origins

Origin of riviera¹

C18: from Italian literally: shore, ultimately from Latin rīpa bank, shore

Example Sentences

The French leader was enjoying water sports on the Riviera.

From BBC

Pastor is the scion of a powerful real estate family that built much of mega-rich Monaco, a dense, one-square-mile nation on the French Riviera.

From Los Angeles Times

Having sold their bandmates on the idea — Good Charlotte is rounded out by guitarist Billy Martin, bassist Paul Thomas and drummer Dean Butterworth — Joel and Benji led the group through a single rehearsal after they’d arrived on the French Riviera, which evidently was all they needed.

From Los Angeles Times

The German-born journalist Charles Nordhoff wrote glowingly of the regional climate’s health-giving qualities for tuberculosis patients, describing it as the French Riviera’s equal, lacking only the deluxe hospitality infrastructure of that renowned gathering place of the rich: “You will not find ... tasteful pleasure-grounds or large, finely-laid-out places. Nature has done much; man has not, so far, helped her.”

From Los Angeles Times

A proposed international league described as the F1 of basketball gained attention over the weekend when Misko Raznatovic, the agent for Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, posted a photo on Instagram of him meeting in shorts and bare feet with LeBron James and the Lakers star’s business partner Maverick Carter on a yacht off the coast of the French Riviera.

From Los Angeles Times