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canyon
or ca·ñon
[ kan-yuhn ]
/ ˈkæn yən /
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noun
a deep valley with steep sides, often with a stream flowing through it.
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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
Words nearby canyon
Other definitions for canyon (2 of 2)
Canyon
[ kan-yuhn ]
/ ˈkæn yən /
noun
a town in N Texas.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use canyon in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for canyon
canyon
caon
/ (ˈkænjən) /
noun
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
Word Origin for canyon
C19: from Spanish cañón, from caña tube, from Latin canna cane
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
Scientific definitions for canyon
canyon
[ kăn′yən ]
A long, deep, narrow valley with steep cliff walls, cut into the Earth by running water and often having a stream at the bottom.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.