wadi

American  

[wah-dee] / ˈwɑ di /

Also wady

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.

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wadi British  

/ ˈwɒdɪ /

noun

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

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wadi Scientific  

/ wä′dē /

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

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Etymology

Origin of wadi

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

Example Sentences

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

From Reuters • Sep. 14, 2023

Umm al-Hiran lies in a wadi, or small valley, not far from the large town of Beersheba at the top end of the Negev desert.

From BBC • Oct. 18, 2012

One last stretch of exposed terrain remained, a shallow wadi we had crossed to get to Devon Hill.

From New York Times • Feb. 1, 2012

“It shows a very strong sensitivity to the geology in the choice of colors for the rock, and also in the little colored spots that represent the gravel on the wadi floor,” Harrell said.

From National Geographic

Near the water the soldiers made us climb down to the first story of a small wadi, where we sheltered under a shelf of rock which overhangs the whole end of it.

From Southern Arabia by Bent, Theodore