nullah

[ nuhl-uh ]

noun(in the East Indies)
  1. an intermittent watercourse.

  2. a gully or ravine.

Origin of nullah

1
First recorded in 1770–80, nullah is from the Hindi word nālā brook, ravine

Words Nearby nullah

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use nullah in a sentence

  • The cantonment was split into two sections by an irregular ravine, or nullah, running east and west.

    The Red Year | Louis Tracy
  • It took us a long time to get out of that nullah, and we tried all sorts of different ways, but the sides were too steep.

  • In vain Captain Loch endeavoured to force his way across the nullah or trench.

  • A good deal of hostile fire all round us, especially close to the nullah, but nothing within 200 yards of the guns.

    Servants of the Guns | Jeffery E. Jeffery
  • At dawn you march to the next camping-ground, which will surely be on the south side of a big nullah fourteen miles ahead.

    The Great Mogul | Louis Tracy

British Dictionary definitions for nullah

nullah

/ (ˈnʌlɑː) /


noun
  1. a stream or drain

Origin of nullah

1
C18: from Hindi nālā

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012