ravine
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ravine
1400–50; late Middle English < Middle French: torrent, Old French: a violent rushing; see raven 2
Explanation
In a Western, outlaws will lie in wait at the top of a ravine, or narrow valley, until they see a traveler entering at the bottom. Then, the outlaws will come pounding down the ravine's steep sides. Ravines can be lonely and violent places averse to settlement as nothing can be built along their steep sides. The word ravine itself derives from the archaic rapin, which is a violent seizure of property. During times of heavy rains and snow melt, a ravine may be filled with violent, rushing water.
Vocabulary lists containing ravine
"The Ravine," Vocabulary from the short story
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Unit 4: Powerful Openings
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"The Ravine" by Graham Salisbury
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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.
It plunged into a ravine in the predawn hours Sunday along a mountain road.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026
The bus was travelling on the GM-2 road before crashing in to the ravine.
From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026
“We left the wild running ravine in the back of the house and we built what I called the art deck,” she adds.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 7, 2026
And in 2019, at least 35 people were killed when a bus plunged into a ravine on the western island of Sumatra.
From Barron's • Dec. 22, 2025
Sigurd stood at the entrance of the water ravine, his back to her.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
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.
