glen
noun
a small, narrow, secluded valley.
glen
1 American
[glen]
/ glɛn /
noun
-
glens
plural
Glen
2
American
[glen]
/ glɛn /
noun
glen
British
/ ɡlɛn /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of glen
1480–90; < Irish, Scots Gaelic gleann; cognate with Welsh glynn
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.
Vocabulary lists containing glen
St. Patrick's Day Vocabulary: Words With Irish and Gaelic Roots
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!
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" by Jeff Kinney
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!
First-Name Basis: Words That Are Also Names
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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:
But instead of disappearing beneath the Atlantic waves – the Titanic is depicted sinking in a desert, a glen, and other non-maritime landscapes.
From BBC ● Dec. 27, 2025
The glen is a large area of thickly wooded hillsides and glens with a river, streams and lochs south of Inverness.
From BBC ● Dec. 14, 2024
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
In a leafy glen in a very small, beautiful moment, the trees watched too.
From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2022
I stood up quickly, moving around to the other side of the well to look down at our glen.
From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff
The funeral is due to be held later for Oscar-winning Irish singer and songwriter Glen Hansard who died in a motorcycle crash in Dublin last week.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
State laws can make it difficult for communities to recover money from delinquent residents, said Glen Weinberg, founder of Fairview Commercial Lending.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
A public wake will be held for Glen Hansard in Dublin on Monday 3 August followed by his funeral the following day.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
‘Once’ Oscar winners Glen Hansard and Marketa Irgloval reunite for a new album, “Forward.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
There was no way he was going to risk losing me or the rest of Shady Glen when we found out what he’d done.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
There are suspicions the Cairngorms lynx are abandoned pets, or were let go by people who want to see the animals reinstated to wooded hills and glens.
From BBC ● Feb. 13, 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
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
The remote area of Scotland's west coast is only accessible by boat or a two-day hike across glens and mountains.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2022
Was someone’s baby being born in one of the far glens?
From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff
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.
