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• dale
  dale

  noun

  a valley, especially a broad valley.
• Dale
  Dale

  noun

  Sir Henry Hallett 1875–1968, English physiologist: Nobel Prize in Medicine 1936.

dale

¹ American  

[deyl] / deɪl /

noun

• dales
  plural

1. a valley, especially a broad valley.

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Dale ² American  

[deyl] / deɪl /

noun

1. Sir Henry Hallett 1875–1968, English physiologist: Nobel Prize in Medicine 1936.

2. Sir Thomas, died 1619, British colonial administrator in America: governor of Virginia 1614–16.

3. a male or female given name.

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Dale ¹ British  

/ deɪl /

noun

1. Sir Henry Hallet. 1875–1968, English physiologist: shared a Nobel prize for physiology or medicine in 1936 with Otto Loewi for their work on the chemical transmission of nerve impulses

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dale ² British  

/ deɪl /

noun

1. an open valley, usually in an area of low hills

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Dale Scientific  

/ dāl /

1. British physiologist who discovered acetylcholine and, with Otto Loewi, investigated the chemical transmission of nerve impulses. For this work they shared the 1936 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• dales
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dale Dale dales

Sofia Vergara is nominated for “Griselda” — dale, homegirl!

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2024

In a single year, there is enough to patio over every hill, dale, nook and cranny in England.

From The Guardian ● Feb. 25, 2019

There’s a scene in “A Walk in the Woods,” a low-impact amble through hill, dale and cinematic nostalgia, when our two crusty trekkers face down a pair of bears.

From New York Times ● Sep. 1, 2015

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

Going westward a mile or so they came to a dale.

From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien

“I’m more than thrilled that it’s become a kind of watercooler show,” says Root, who along with co-stars Rhys, Dale Dickey and Kate O’Flynn, received an Emmy nomination for his performance.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 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

No one clued in Dale about this, or anybody else, for that matter.

From Salon ● Jun. 18, 2026

One of the most prominent critics is Richard Dale, emeritus professor of international banking at the University of Southampton.

From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026

“Because her singing is kind of a clue that tells you she needs space,” Ms. Dale says.

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

O’Connor leans heavily into that fusing of the inner and natural worlds: There’s lots of twirling about in “Emily,” often amid drenching rainstorms while cavorting on those aforementioned dales.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 22, 2023

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

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