couloir
Americannoun
-
couloirs
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of couloir
1850–55; < French: literally, colander < Late Latin cōlātōrium strainer, equivalent to Latin cōlā ( re ) to strain, filter + -tōrium -tory 2; see coulee
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:
Gyselinck knows Eight Mile Road well and has climbed in these mountains for over 20 years, including a successful March 2016 ascent of Colchuck Peak via the northeast couloir.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 2, 2023
Lewicky’s benchmark for great adventures dates to 2008 when, on a hike through the San Gabriels, he spotted an unfamiliar couloir — a steep chute bordered by rock on either side — in the distance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2023
After about 1,500 vertical feet, the couloir narrowed and made a sharp bend.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2023
While climbing a couloir — a steep narrow gully — the lead climber in a group of six triggered the slab avalanche.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 22, 2023
The buttress to the left of the central couloir looks as difficult as rocks possibly can look.
From Climbing in The British Isles, Vol. II Wales and Ireland by H. C. Hart
Olympian Cam Smith described the longer versions as a “more in-wild-mountains-off-the-ski-resorts event where you’re climbing up and skiing down in wild places and on technical ridges, on peaks, couloirs, all that good stuff.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2026
“Access couloirs that used to last deep into August are falling apart,” Volken added, describing the steep, narrow gullies that climbers often must ascend.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 4, 2023
And while Big Sky is revered for steep chutes and terrifying couloirs, of the resort’s 5,800 acres, 40% is made for newbies and intermediate skiers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 25, 2018
Snowboarders stranded in the hourglass couloirs plugged the tight spots like corks.
From New York Times ● Dec. 30, 2015
We zigzagged down the rock, sometimes driven to the ice of the adjacent couloirs, sometimes on the outer ridge of the Black Stone, sometimes wriggling down little cracks and over evil boiler-plates.
From Mr. Standfast by John Buchan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
