canyon

¹

or ca·ñon

[ kan-yuhn ]

noun

1. a deep valley with steep sides, often with a stream flowing through it.

   Synonyms: coulee, arroyo, gap, pass, ravine, gully, gorge

Canyon

²

[ kan-yuhn ]

noun

1. a town in N Texas.

canyon

/ ˈkænjən /

noun

1. 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

canyon

/ kăn′yən /

1. A long, deep, narrow valley with steep cliff walls, cut into the Earth by running water and often having a stream at the bottom.

Word History and Origins

Origin of canyon¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of canyon¹

C19: from Spanish cañón, from caña tube, from Latin canna cane

Example Sentences

Given how many visitors pose near the rim of the canyon for selfies, you might assume that most visitors have died by falling from its high ledges.

From Washington Post

After five hours on dusty freeways and then winding forest roads, we found ourselves transported into a remote granite canyon full of sky-high crumbling rock formations and trees as thick as houses.

From Outside Online

Both pilots were maneuvering around scattered cumulus clouds to get a better view of the canyon, and both entered the same cloud, making it impossible for them to see each other.

From MIT Technology Review

Today, the crater is a bleak expanse of rock canyons and windswept sand.

From Washington Post

The amenities are minimal at best and the uninsulated container will be chilly on winter nights, but if close to the canyon is what you’re after, you’ve found it.

From Outside Online

So when my wife and I moved to Laurel Canyon I spent my first year working night and day on the show.

From The Daily Beast

It was on a hike to the Grand Canyon at age 18 that Shattuck penned her first bucket list.

From The Daily Beast

As he entered the canyon, he clutched his chest and fell to the sidewalk.

From The Daily Beast

The Biggest Loser is back for its 16th season, with its “Comeback Canyon” edition featuring former athletes.

From The Daily Beast

The protest at Recapture Canyon was non-violent, though there were guns present.

From The Daily Beast

And presently we galloped across a mile or two of level grassland and pulled up on the very brink of Sage Creek canyon.

From Project Gutenberg

Cautiously we retraced our steps from the lower end of the flat, and turned into the narrow mouth of the canyon.

From Project Gutenberg

Then dawn flung itself impetuously across the hills, and the naked rim of the canyon took form in a shifting whirl of smoke.

From Project Gutenberg

Then he broke off, and when he next gave hint of his whereabouts, it was to hail us from the nearest point on the canyon rim.

From Project Gutenberg

Stooping, lest our heads furnish a target, we splashed along in the shallow water till we reached the mouth of the canyon.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• gorge
• gully
• ravine
• valley