dale
noun
a valley, especially a broad valley.
dale
1 American
[deyl]
/ deɪl /
noun
-
dales
plural
Dale
2
American
[deyl]
/ deɪl /
noun
-
Sir Henry Hallett 1875–1968, English physiologist: Nobel Prize in Medicine 1936.
-
Sir Thomas, died 1619, British colonial administrator in America: governor of Virginia 1614–16.
-
a male or female given name.
Dale
1
British
/ deɪl /
noun
dale
2
British
/ deɪl /
noun
Dale
Scientific
/ dāl /
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of dale
before 900; Middle English dal, Old English dæl; cognate with German Tal, Old Norse dalr, Gothic dals
Explanation
A dale is a valley, a wide, open area that stretches between hills. Some dales have rivers or streams flowing through them, while others are covered in grasses or other plants. When a geologist describes something as a dale or a valley, it is typically a low area that's longer than it is wide, and bordered on at least two sides by hills or mountains. Dales with rivers are often called "vales," while a very small dale is sometimes called a "hollow," pronounced "holler" in rural Appalachia. Dale comes from the Old English word for "valley," dæl.
Vocabulary lists containing dale
First-Name Basis: Words That Are Also Names
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"Mississippi Solo," Vocabulary from the memoir
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Tolkien Reading Day, List 4
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Sofia Vergara is nominated for “Griselda” — dale, homegirl!
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2024
When I ask Sarah Close, who lives in a farmhouse in the dale, how fast the download speed is, she just laughs.
From BBC ● Dec. 8, 2021
Keep going to the even more spectacular Whitfield, before ascending out of the glen and taking a moorland track back to Askrigg, with commanding views over the dale.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 1, 2019
Every two years, the call goes out from hill and dale: “This is the most important election of our lifetimes,” politicians trumpet to the crowds.
From Time ● Nov. 4, 2014
Where before the green dale had lain, its grassy slopes lapping the ever-mounting hills, there now a forest loomed.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
Dale said she also spoke to the girls about friendship choices too "because it is very, very important that choices you make now could shape your life for your whole future".
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
When he asked Shakur who shot him, the rapper replied, “‘No, we’ll take care of it,’” Dale said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
Asked by Dale if she wanted an "amnesty" with Rowling, Sturgeon said she was not "at war".
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
“The mission is going to dictate how long the bridge is going to be around,” Gen. Dale White, the Air Force general who oversees the Air Force One program, said in an interview.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
It was easier to let go of this when he was with Ms. Dale and Daniel.
From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers
Read on for tips on where to find flowers, which wineries are on the up and how to stay satiated and well rested as you roam the region’s hills and dales.
From Seattle Times ● May 18, 2024
The glory that now haloes the vineyard valleys of Sonoma and Santa Ynez, Alexander and Edna, the Russian River, and other dales and vales, once belonged to Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2022
After hiking o’er hills and o’er dales, Said the campers: “Good night; happy trails!”
From Washington Post ● Sep. 5, 2019
Thorstein went south by the dales all the way till he came to his estates.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2019
But the air was damp, somewhere—I said—and darted around the rocks, peering and looking and sniffing and going down into pockets and dales.
From "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
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.
