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alley

 - 5 dictionary results

al⋅ley

1  [al-ee]
Use alley in a Sentence
–noun, plural -leys.
1. a passage, as through a continuous row of houses, permitting access from the street to backyards, garages, etc.
2. a narrow back street.
3. a walk, as in a garden, enclosed with hedges or shrubbery.
4. Bowling.
a. a long, narrow, wooden lane or floor along which the ball is rolled.
b. (often plural) a building for bowling.
c. bowling green.
5. Tennis. the space on each side of a tennis court between the doubles sideline and the service or singles sideline.
6. Rare. an aisle.
—Idiom
7. up or down one's alley, Informal. in keeping with or satisfying one's abilities, interests, or tastes: If you like science fiction, this book will be right up your alley.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME al(e)y < MF alee walk, passage, deriv. of fem. of ale, ptp. of aler to walk (F aller), prob. < VL *allārī, regularized from allātus, the suppletive ptp. of afferre to bring (pass. afferrī to be moved, conveyed, to betake oneself); F aller often allegedly < L ambulāre to walk (see amble ), but this offers grave phonetic problems, since the m and b would not normally be lost

Synonyms:
2. See street.

al⋅ley

2  [al-ee]
–noun, plural -leys. Chiefly Northeastern U.S.
a choice, large playing marble.
Origin:
1710–20; prob. al(abaster) + -y 2 , sp. to conform with alley 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To alley
al·ley 1   (āl'ē)   
n.   pl. al·leys

  1. A narrow street or passageway between or behind city buildings.

  2. A path between flower beds or trees in a garden or park.

  3. Sports

    1. A straight narrow course or track, especially a bowling alley.

    2. Either of the parallel lanes at the sides of a tennis court, which widen the inbounds area for doubles play.


[Middle English alei, from Old French alee, from aler, to walk, from Latin ambulāre; see ambulate.]
al·ley 2   (āl'ē)   
n.   pl. al·leys Games
A large playing marble, often used as the shooter.

[Short for alabaster.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Idioms & Phrases

alley

In addition to the idiom beginning with alley, also see blind alley; right up one's alley.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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