coulee
Chiefly Western U.S. and Western Canada. a deep ravine or gulch, usually dry, that has been formed by running water.
a small valley.
a low-lying area.
a small intermittent stream.
Geology. a stream of lava.
Origin of coulee
1Words Nearby coulee
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use coulee in a sentence
I wormed and twisted around until I got up to that coulee, and sure enough, it was what I thought.
David Lannarck, Midget | George S. HarneyThere were some pools of water standing in a coulee, at whose head grew a clump of wild plum trees and other straggly growth.
The Way of a Man | Emerson HoughWe realized at last that it was a solitary buffalo bull, no doubt coming down to water at a little coulee just beyond us.
The Way of a Man | Emerson HoughStanding in the shade of the coulee wall, he undressed deliberately, folding each garment methodically as he took it off.
The Happy Family | Bertha Muzzy BowerThe coulee wound aimlessly, with precipitous sides that he could not climb, even by leading his horse.
The Happy Family | Bertha Muzzy Bower
British Dictionary definitions for coulee
/ (ˈkuːleɪ, -lɪ) /
a flow of molten lava
such lava when solidified
Western US and Canadian a dry stream valley, especially a long steep-sided gorge or ravine that once carried melt water from a glacier
a small intermittent stream in such a ravine
Origin of coulee
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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