valley

[ val-ee ]
See synonyms for: valleyvalleys on Thesaurus.com

noun,plural val·leys.
  1. an elongated depression between uplands, hills, or mountains, especially one following the course of a stream.

  2. an extensive, more or less flat, and relatively low region drained by a great river system.

  1. any depression or hollow resembling a valley.

  2. a low point or interval in any process, representation, or situation.

  3. any place, period, or situation that is filled with fear, gloom, foreboding, or the like: the valley of despair.

  4. Architecture. a depression or angle formed by the meeting of two inclined sides of a roof.

  5. the lower phase of a horizontal wave motion.

Origin of valley

1
1250–1300; Middle English valeie, valey <Old French valee, equivalent to val vale + -ee <Latin -āta, feminine of -ātus -ate1

Other words from valley

  • val·ley·like, adjective
  • in·ter·val·ley, noun

Words Nearby valley

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How to use valley in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for valley

valley

/ (ˈvælɪ) /


noun
  1. a long depression in the land surface, usually containing a river, formed by erosion or by movements in the earth's crust

  2. the broad area drained by a single river system: the Thames valley

  1. any elongated depression resembling a valley

  2. the junction of a roof slope with another or with a wall

  3. (modifier) relating to or proceeding by way of a valley: a valley railway

Origin of valley

1
C13: from Old French valee, from Latin vallis

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

Scientific definitions for valley

valley

[ vălē ]


  1. A long, narrow region of low land between ranges of mountains, hills, or other high areas, often having a river or stream running along the bottom. Valleys are most commonly formed through the erosion of land by rivers or glaciers. They also form where large regions of land are lowered because of geological faults.

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