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Synonyms

back-alley

American  
[bak-al-ee] / ˈbækˈæl i /

adjective

  1. dirty, unprepossessing, sordid, or clandestine.

    back-alley morals; back-alley political schemes.
back alley Idioms  

  1. see under back street.

Etymology

Origin of back-alley

An Americanism dating back to 1860–65

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Bickerstaff was referring to a time-honored tradition of Detroit basketball: Turning a hard court ballet into a back-alley brawl.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026

Shades of Charli XCX’s chaotic back-alley meta-entrance into the Crypto.com arena from Addison Rae here, with a cool pivot into choreo.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 1, 2026

In this country, before abortion was legal, women went to both reputable doctors and back-alley quacks to get care.

From Slate • Nov. 7, 2023

As a result, the illicit abortions that were once invisible — the back-alley abortions before Roe v.

From New York Times • Dec. 8, 2022

After the pathetic back-alley drama, I headed to Burton’s pharmacy, which had been the real purpose of the trip downtown.

From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.