Aberfan

British

/ ˌæbəˈvæn /

noun

a former coal-mining village in S Wales, in Merthyr Tydfil county borough: scene of a disaster in 1966 when a slag heap collapsed onto part of the village killing 144 people (including 116 children)

"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.

In the wake of the Aberfan disaster - when a colliery spoil tip collapsed, slid down a mountain and engulfed the village's primary school and surrounding houses - teachers were asked to confirm the names of the dead children before they were cleaned up and their parents told.

From BBC

Her childhood ambition took her to her first teaching job in England before returning to the area where she was raised to teach in Aberfan.

From BBC

In the hours and days that followed she and two other colleagues kept returning to Aberfan, even as police restricted access to the village.

From BBC

After a short break to London arranged by the National Union of Teachers, Mair returned to Aberfan.

From BBC

Hettie and Rennie moved on, but despite everything, Mair stayed in Aberfan, where she felt "rooted".

From BBC

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