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barranca

American  
[buh-rang-kuh, bahr-rahng-kah] / bəˈræŋ kə, bɑrˈrɑŋ kɑ /

noun

  • barrancas
    plural
  1. a steep-walled ravine or gorge.

  2. a gully with steep sides; arroyo.


barranca British  
/ bəˈræŋkə /

noun

  1. a ravine or precipice

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of barranca

First recorded in 1685–95; from Spanish, variant of barranco, of obscure, probably pre-Latin origin


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.

See Examples For:

Clark held his nerve to the end and was right there with him, even after a rare errant shot into the barranca on the 17th.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 17, 2023

A steep gully known as a barranca snakes through the course.

From New York Times ● Jun. 17, 2023

You’ve got barranca to the right and trees to the left.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2023

On your approach, you’ve got to take on the barranca.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2023

I wondered that none of them had yet answered my signal; but my wonder was changed into consternation when I perceived that the approaching party were on the other side of the barranca!

From The Scalp Hunters by F.A. Stewart

Hanse also incorporated barrancas in a restoration he oversaw at Los Angeles Country Club, where the U.S.

From Seattle Times ● May 22, 2024

That concrete canal and other drainage areas on the course, around half the holes, have been replaced by barrancas, which are often sandy areas dotted with native wild grasses and plants.

From Seattle Times ● May 22, 2024

On the other hand, down in the barrancas, a field cannot be used more than two years in succession, because the corn-plants in that time are already suffocated with weeds.

From Unknown Mexico, Volume 1 (of 2) A Record of Five Years' Exploration Among the Tribes of the Western Sierra Madre; In the Tierra Caliente of Tepic and Jalisco; and Among the Tarascos of Michoacan by Carl Lumholtz

In the country of the Tarahumare, that is to say, the State of Chihuahua, there are three very large barrancas.

From Unknown Mexico, Volume 1 (of 2) A Record of Five Years' Exploration Among the Tribes of the Western Sierra Madre; In the Tierra Caliente of Tepic and Jalisco; and Among the Tarascos of Michoacan by Carl Lumholtz

But in the immediate neighbourhood of Guachochic toward the west and south lie the ridges and barrancas that run toward Sinaloa, and these are inhabited by pagan Tarahumares.

From Unknown Mexico, Volume 1 (of 2) A Record of Five Years' Exploration Among the Tribes of the Western Sierra Madre; In the Tierra Caliente of Tepic and Jalisco; and Among the Tarascos of Michoacan by Carl Lumholtz

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