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• glen
  glen

  noun

  a small, narrow, secluded valley.
• Glen
  Glen

  noun

  a male or female given name.

glen

¹ American  

[glen] / glɛn /

noun

• glens
  plural

1. a small, narrow, secluded valley.

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Glen ² American  

[glen] / glɛn /

noun

1. a male or female given name.

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glen British  

/ ɡlɛn /

noun

1. a narrow and deep mountain valley, esp in Scotland or Ireland

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• glenlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• glens
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of glen

1480–90; < Irish, Scots Gaelic gleann; cognate with Welsh glynn

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Explanation

A glen is a narrow valley deep in the mountains. Glens often form streams. The top of a mountain is the peak, and the lower parts are valleys. A glen is a valley that's narrow and secluded—it’s deep in the mountains. A glen could form a stream, or it could be lush and green. If you are on top of a mountain looking down, you may see several glens.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

glen Glen glens

The chalet and glen continued to be popular with both tourists and locals and the building was used as a lodge and cafe for many years as part of the treasured national glen.

From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2026

According to the trust, thousands of years ago the glen would have been a native woodland but it was left bare by human intervention such as grazing sheep and deer.

From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2025

Each non-Pee-wee appearance required the audience to recalibrate our expectations and remove Reubens from the glen plaid suits and pomade-slicked hairdo for which we came to know him.

From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2023

Indeed, consumers may want their vehicles not only to look good in, say, a wooded glen, but also to project the very idea that they care about wooded glens.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 7, 2023

Massive hotels, with up to 250 rooms, sprang up in every glen.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

The collision occurred around 11:30 p.m. near Woodman Avenue and Bessemer Street in Valley Glen.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2026

The sentiment was echoed by plasterer Glen Gandy, who said he also could not afford to expand his workforce or absorb the rising cost of materials.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

The last native plant on the island was dug up from Glen Auldyn in 1947 in an attempt to save it, but died soon afterwards.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026

As they fall further, Hoover and Glen Canyon dams could lose their capacity to provide water and power downstream and even become vulnerable to physical damage.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

Beverly took her hand off Louisiana’s mouth, and the three of them walked into the Golden Glen, where Martha was standing, like before, behind the counter at the end of the hallway, smiling.

From "Raymie Nightingale" by Kate DiCamillo

There will likely be no vistas of forest canopy, no shaded glens with water cascading through a tapestry of conifers, pine sap spicing the morning air.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 28, 2025

But the organisation said finding meteorites would be difficult in a vast area of mountains and glens.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2025

Although most of the park fills up daily with birthday parties, off-leash dogs, and brass bands, it’s also home to a network of shady glens, murmuring creeks, and still ponds.

From Slate ● Aug. 31, 2023

It re-shaped the map of the Highlands with vast hydro schemes, which brought power and people into the Highland glens, much of that in the 1950s.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2023

Was someone’s baby being born in one of the far glens?

From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff

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