bowling alley

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noun

a long, narrow wooden lane or alley, for the game of tenpins.

a building or enclosed area containing a number of such lanes or alleys.

Origin of bowling alley

First recorded in 1545–55

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for bowling alley

Historical Examples of bowling alley

The library, the gymnasium, the bowling-alley, opened from the prayer-room.
A Singular Life
Elizabeth Stuart Phelps
On the premises there was what had once been a bowling-alley.
Chapters from My Autobiography
Mark Twain
How now, my fine trundletails; my wooden cosmographers; my bowling-alley in an uproar?
A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 12 (of 15)
Robert Dodsley
The bowling-alley at Sandringham was one of the best in England and the Prince was always fond of a game of bowls.
The Life of King Edward VII
J. Castell Hopkins
He entered the all-night chop-house, café, and bowling-alley of his friend and admirer, Justus O'Callahan.
The Voice of the City
O. Henry

British Dictionary definitions for bowling alley

bowling alley

noun

a long narrow wooden lane down which the ball is rolled in tenpin bowling
a similar lane or alley, usually with raised sides, for playing skittles (ninepins)

a building having several lanes for tenpin bowling

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