valley
Americannoun
plural
valleys-
an elongated depression between uplands, hills, or mountains, especially one following the course of a stream.
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an extensive, more or less flat, and relatively low region drained by a great river system.
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any depression or hollow resembling a valley.
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a low point or interval in any process, representation, or situation.
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any place, period, or situation that is filled with fear, gloom, foreboding, or the like.
the valley of despair.
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Architecture. a depression or angle formed by the meeting of two inclined sides of a roof.
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the lower phase of a horizontal wave motion.
noun
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a long depression in the land surface, usually containing a river, formed by erosion or by movements in the earth's crust
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the broad area drained by a single river system
the Thames valley
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any elongated depression resembling a valley
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the junction of a roof slope with another or with a wall
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(modifier) relating to or proceeding by way of a valley
a valley railway
Other Word Forms
- intervalley noun
- valleylike adjective
Etymology
Origin of valley
1250–1300; Middle English valeie, valey < Old French valee, equivalent to val vale ( def. ) + -ee < Latin -āta, feminine of -ātus -ate 1
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.
I was two days into the Gobi March, a brutal 155-mile ultramarathon through the steppes, sand dunes and rock valleys of Central Mongolia.
Simmons’ property was designed by Swiss architect Roger P. Kurath and is made of “glass, steel, oak wood and concrete elements,” which emphasize the sweeping views of the mountains, valleys, and ocean.
From MarketWatch
Asked if he had a sense of his performance as a poker player, Goldstein answered, “Unfortunately,” before estimating that he lost about $10 million through the peaks and valleys of high-stakes games over the years.
As I stood there listening to her clear voice ring out over the valley, I happened to glance down to the raw, red wound in my pony’s leg.
From Literature
Through the trees I could see out over the valley where The Kingdom lay.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
