canyon

¹ American  

[kan-yuhn] / ˈkæn yən /

Or cañon

noun

1. a deep valley with steep sides, often with a stream flowing through it.

   Synonyms:

   coulee, arroyo, gap, pass, ravine, gully, gorge

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Canyon ² American  

[kan-yuhn] / ˈkæn yən /

noun

1. a town in N Texas.

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canyon British  

/ ˈkænjən /

noun

1. a gorge or ravine, esp in North America, usually formed by the down-cutting of a river in a dry area where there is insufficient rainfall to erode the sides of the valley

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canyon Scientific  

/ kăn′yən /

1. A long, deep, narrow valley with steep cliff walls, cut into the Earth by running water and often having a stream at the bottom.

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Etymology

Origin of canyon

An Americanism first recorded in 1835–45; from Colonial Spanish (Mexico, southwestern U.S.), Spanish cañón “a long tube, a hollow,” equivalent to cañ(a) “tube” (from Latin canna cane ) + -on augmentative suffix

Example Sentences

The second site lies on the plateau above Juventae Chasma, a 5-km-deep canyon located just north of Valles Marineris.

From Science Daily • Mar. 10, 2026

The moderate Santa Ana wind event began to pick up on Friday and is also bringing gusty winds that are forecast to peak Saturday, possibly creating some concerns in the mountains and canyon passes.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2026

Commercial-satellite photos released by the Martin Center show mobile missile launchers that had apparently exited one of the underground sites into a nearby canyon were destroyed before firing their missiles.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026

They make a canyon for the crosswalk and it’s very noble of them.

From Slate • Feb. 24, 2026

It felt as if the Franz Ferdinandian hole in his gut had now torn, and the pain grew and grew from a bullet hole to a canyon until finally Colin himself was the hole.

From "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green

Related Words

• gorge
• gully
• ravine
• valley