wadi

Also wa·dy

[wah-dee]

noun

plural

wadis 

1. the channel of a watercourse that is dry except during periods of rainfall.

2. such a stream or watercourse itself.

3. a valley.

wadi

/ ˈwɒdɪ /

noun

1. a watercourse in N Africa and Arabia, dry except in the rainy season

wadi

1. A gully or streambed in northern Africa and southwest Asia that remains dry except during the rainy season.

Word History and Origins

Origin of wadi¹

First recorded in 1830–40, wadi is from the Arabic word wādī

Word History and Origins

Origin of wadi¹

C19: from Arabic

Example Sentences

But on the other side of the frontier, across the no-man’s land in a dry sloping wadi and along our bleak route, gun-toting RSF fighters in camouflage uniforms patrol this part of Sudan.

From BBC

The results showed the tools were likely to have been used approximately 84 thousand years ago and then abandoned on the banks of the wadis and subsequently buried over time.

From Science Daily

The desert riverbed, or wadi, had already subsided back to a trickle.

From Reuters

A series of bridges had crossed the wadi, connecting the port area with the western side of the city.

From BBC

An academic published a paper in 2022 said that repeated flooding threatened the dams built in a wadi, a usually dry riverbed, above the city and urged immediate maintenance.

From Reuters