valley

[ val-ee ]

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.
3. any depression or hollow resembling a valley.
4. a low point or interval in any process, representation, or situation.
5. any place, period, or situation that is filled with fear, gloom, foreboding, or the like:

   the valley of despair.

6. Architecture. a depression or angle formed by the meeting of two inclined sides of a roof.
7. the lower phase of a horizontal wave motion.

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

3. any elongated depression resembling a valley
4. the junction of a roof slope with another or with a wall
5. modifier relating to or proceeding by way of a valley

   a valley railway

valley

/ văl′ē /

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.

Other Words From

• valley·like adjective
• inter·valley noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of valley¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of valley¹

C13: from Old French valee, from Latin vallis

Example Sentences

Los Angeles installed approximately 100 license plate readers in the San Fernando Valley in October for about $500,000 in the hope of addressing crime.

From Los Angeles Times

Growing up in Oahu’s Palolo Valley in a big Samoan family, he’d felt that power firsthand.

From Los Angeles Times

In Moreno Valley, a high school teacher was placed on leave following a racially charged anti-Trump outburst in the classroom where he said that many Latino men who support Trump want to be white.

From Los Angeles Times

For a rare, if not lucky, few days a year, Yosemite National Park’s famed El Capitan granite cliff converts into what looks like an active volcano jutting 3,000 feet above the valley floor.

From Los Angeles Times

“There’s only more and more photographers and traffic in the valley each year,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• basin
• canyon
• gorge
• lowland
• plain