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• canyon
  canyon

  noun

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

  noun

  a town in N Texas.

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

Explanation

A canyon is a deep, narrow valley surrounded by tall cliffs. Because a canyon is often very deep, be very cautious when standing on the rocky cliffs above. The noun canyon refers to a deep ravine that has been cut into the earth's surface over a long period of time by erosion from a running river. Also known as a gorge, it usually has very steep walls with rocky cliffs. One of the most famous examples is the Grand Canyon, which was cut by the Colorado River. It's an astounding 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide, and a mile deep.

Example Sentences

Eliminating fees for Diablo Canyon from 2027 to 2030 could save utility customers an estimated $1.84 billion.

From Los Angeles Times • May 3, 2026

From Benedict Canyon to San Quentin, the ensemble pursues clues and follows possible leads, undaunted by authorities’ annoyance.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026

Sierra Canyon 10, Loyola 0: Theo Swafford had a double and three-run home run for Sierra Canyon.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

Clayton testified that Erickson told him that he and Grossman were “flying down” Triunfo Canyon Road when he swerved to avoid two boys in the crosswalk.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

“You’d need a wallet as big as the Grand Canyon to hold El Patron’s paper money,” Celia had said, “and you’d have to drain the Gulf of California for the small change.”

From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer

Related Words

• gorge
• gully
• ravine
• valley