ghat

or ghaut

[ gawt, got ]

noun

1. a wide set of steps descending to a river, especially a river used for bathing.
2. a mountain pass.
3. a mountain range or escarpment.

ghat

/ ɡɔːt /

noun

1. stairs or a passage leading down to a river
2. a mountain pass or mountain range
3. a place of cremation

Word History and Origins

Origin of ghat¹

1595–1605; < Hindi ghāṭ < Sanskrit ghaṭṭa

Word History and Origins

Origin of ghat¹

C17: from Hindi ghāt, from Sanskrit ghatta

Example Sentences

While filming a wildlife documentary in India's western ghats, Robin Darius Conz saw a tiger on a hillside overlooking a town.

From BBC

Beyond its ghats and its timeless churn of bathing pilgrims, holy men and beggars stands a gleaming promenade, renovated by Adityanath in 2019.

From Washington Post

As I approached the center of the complex, the crowds pressed closer together, filling every inch of the paths and ghats, a term for stairways in the Indian subcontinent, lining the sacred Bagmati River.

From New York Times

I’ve been there myself, and while I remember the spiritual light on the steps of the riverfront ghats, my American tourist recollections are mainly of sensory overload and crowds.

From New York Times

Now the ghats are nearly empty, but the public crematoriums are busy around-the-clock.

From Washington Post