couloir
Americannoun
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:
On Feb. 19, a group of six climbers were climbing a steep, narrow gully — called a couloir — on the peak near Leavenworth when an avalanche crashed down the mountainside.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 25, 2023
That can mean trekking all day to make but one run down an isolated couloir or a bowl.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 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
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 party was descending a long couloir or gully, which traversed obliquely the iron face of the mountain.
From Fordham's Feud by Mitford, Bertram
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
Other descents by a more popular combination of the Ford, Chevy and Stettner couloirs were later made by Steve Shea, Jeff Rhoads and Brad Peck before the end of decade.
From New York Times ● Dec. 31, 2021
“It’s gorgeous. The skiing is amazing. There are pillows in the trees, couloirs up high and everything under the sun as a skier you would want, depending on the weather.”
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 22, 2021
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
This danger must always be present in couloirs to a greater or less extent in such seasons as the one we were experiencing.
From Above the Snow Line by Dent, Clinton Thomas
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.
