alley
1- a long, narrow, wooden lane or floor along which the ball is rolled.
- (often plural) a building for bowling.
- bowling green.
Idioms about alley
Origin of alley
1synonym study for alley
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Other definitions for alley (2 of 2)
Origin of alley
2MORE ABOUT ALLEY
What is anĀ alley?
An alley is a narrow passage between buildings or other structures. The word alleyway means the same thing.
Alley can also refer to a narrow path or passage behind a row of houses, such as one that allows access to garages and back yards.
An alley can also be a narrow street or laneāthe word alley might even be used in the name of such a street, as in Elfrethās Alley. All of these senses of alley refer to passages that are outsideāyou wouldnāt normally call a narrow passage an alley if it is indoors.
The term bowling alley refers to a building with lanes for bowlingāwhich can also be called alleys.
The proper plural of alley is alleys.
Example: We took a shortcut through the narrow alley between the shops.
Where doesĀ alley come from?
The first records of the word alley come from the 1300s. It comes from the Middle French alee, meaning āwalkā or āpassage,ā from verb aler, āto walk.ā
In big cities, alleys between buildings are often very narrowāwide enough to walk down but not drive. These kinds of alleys are often depicted as dark, dangerous, or mysterious placesāplaces where dangerous people might be lurking. In reality, theyāre usually just places where businesses deposit their garbage in dumpsters.
A blind alley is a road or alley with a dead end (or a figurative dead end). An alley cat is a stray cat so-named probably because they often take shelter in alleys. If something is said to be up oneās alley, it means it is something thatās suited to their tastes or interests. The phrase probably uses oneās alley as a way of referring to oneās area of interest.
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What are some other forms related to alley?
- alleys (plural)
What are some synonyms for alley?
What are some words that share a root or word element with alley?Ā
What are some words that often get used in discussing alley?
How isĀ alley used in real life?
Alley is most commonly used to refer to the narrow passage between buildings or to the lane behind a row of houses.
Very well maintained back alley…I spotted only one little stickerš pic.twitter.com/P8s3yhaSqL
— Alex Lund, Author (@AlexLundAuthor) December 3, 2020
This dude is having such a slow night heās serenading two dogs in the alley behind his restaurant pic.twitter.com/2YKIeyGIEw
— Norrin Hester (@norrinhester) November 22, 2020
Before we got the curbside receptacles, we had to take our trash to the dumpster in the alley behind the house š pic.twitter.com/XLYlZwNkbP
— AɳαŹĪ±Ī¹ SĻ É±É±Ņ½É¾Ź (@Stfu_Anajai) December 5, 2020
Try usingĀ alley!
Is alley used correctly in the following sentence?Ā
Please pull the car around back and park in the alley.