dale
noun
a valley, especially a broad valley.
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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.
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Sir Thomas, died 1619, British colonial administrator in America: governor of Virginia 1614–16.
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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
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"Mississippi Solo," Vocabulary from the memoir
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Tolkien Reading Day, List 4
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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:
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
They have been with her up hill and down dale.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 7, 2016
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
We measured the temperature and the insect abundance at... the top of the dale and it was too changeable and too inhospitable.
From BBC ● Jan. 26, 2013
And warn’t it me as had been tried afore, and as had been know’d up hill and down dale in Bridewells and Lock-Ups!
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
“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
Officers were called by the London Ambulance Service to the property in Dale Grove, Finchley, just after midnight on Monday.
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026
Busch’s most famous public feud was with Dale Earnhardt, Jr., the scion of racing royalty and Busch’s on-track nemesis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 23, 2026
Daniel and Axel don’t have time to remind Ms. Dale about the eagles’ nest at George and Emmett’s.
From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers
Over the past four years, Graeme has become something of an expert in birds and spends many hours trying to find the best spots to see them in his native Durham dales.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2024
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
Hour after hour for nearly three weary days he had jogged up and down, over passes, and through long dales, and across many streams.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
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.
