Crossword Clue: River that gave India its name
Here's the answer to the River that gave India its name crossword clue, with an explanation and where it has appeared.
Definition & answer: INDUS
"River that gave India its name" points to INDUS, a 5-letter entry that starts with I and finishes on S and carries 2 vowels. Because every square it occupies also belongs to a down or across answer crossing it, you can often back into INDUS from the letters around it rather than the clue alone.
Origin & meaning
The Indus flows about 2,000 miles from Tibet through Pakistan to the Arabian Sea. The ancient Indus Valley Civilization flourished along its banks.
Common usage
Compact, vowel-friendly answers such as INDUS are a constructor's staple: they slot into a 5-square space and play nicely in both directions. Solvers who recognize it on sight save real time on the daily puzzle.
Crossword trivia
Indus belongs to the small vocabulary of words that appear constantly in grids. Because it's only 5 letters, editors can drop it almost anywhere, which is why regular solvers know it on sight.
Stuck on this clue?
Stuck on "River that gave India its name"? Don't force it — solve the clues crossing this slot instead. One or two intersecting letters usually make INDUS obvious. Working from the crossings is the single most useful habit for getting faster.
This clue in different puzzles
Setters vary how they clue INDUS — sometimes with a straight dictionary definition, sometimes with wordplay, a pun, or a fill-in-the-blank — but the answer itself stays the same. Learning to spot the answer behind the disguise is a core crossword skill.
Example sentences
- "A 5-letter slot and a clue like 'River that gave India its name'? That's INDUS nine times out of ten."
- "I second-guessed it, but the crossing answers confirmed INDUS was right."
- "I had the crossing letters, so writing INDUS into the grid took no time at all."