Ca·ha·ba River (k?-hô?b?, -hä?-) A river rising in the Appalachian Mountains of north-central Alabama near Birmingham and flowing about 305 km (190 mi) generally south to the Alabama River near Selma.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.