bolson

[ bohl-sohn ]

noun
  1. a desert valley, the level of which has been raised by aggradation, usually draining into a playa.

Origin of bolson

1
1830–40, Americanism;<Spanish: big purse, equivalent to bols(a) purse (<Late Latin bursa;see bursa) + -ón augmentative suffix

Words Nearby bolson

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use bolson in a sentence

  • The Hueco bolson holds about 10 million acre-feet of fresh water and about three times as much brackish, or semi-salty, water.

  • Of this nature is the great arid tract known as the bolson of Mapimi.

    Mexico | Charles Reginald Enock
  • The vallon was therefore a cul-de-sac; or, as the trapper in his native synonyme called it, a bolson.

    The Wild Huntress | Mayne Reid
  • Our guide was of opinion that this bolson would serve as a hiding-place, until we could rest our horses.

    The Wild Huntress | Mayne Reid
  • Such lovely landscape was presented to our eyes in the “bolson” into which our trapper-guide had conducted us.

    The Wild Huntress | Mayne Reid

British Dictionary definitions for bolson

bolson

/ (bəʊlˈsəʊn) /


noun
  1. Southwestern US a desert valley surrounded by mountains, with a shallow lake at the centre

Origin of bolson

1
C19: from American Spanish bolsón, from Spanish bolsa purse, from Late Latin bursa bag; see purse

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