valley

American  

[val-ee] / ˈvæl i /

noun

• valleys
  plural

1. 

   an elongated depression between uplands, hills, or mountains, especially one following the course of a stream.

2. an extensive, more or less flat, and relatively low region drained by a great river system.

3. any depression or hollow resembling a valley.

4. a low point or interval in any process, representation, or situation.

5. any place, period, or situation that is filled with fear, gloom, foreboding, or the like.

   the valley of despair.

6. Architecture. a depression or angle formed by the meeting of two inclined sides of a roof.

7. the lower phase of a horizontal wave motion.

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valley British  

/ ˈvælɪ /

noun

1. a long depression in the land surface, usually containing a river, formed by erosion or by movements in the earth's crust

2. the broad area drained by a single river system

   the Thames valley

3. any elongated depression resembling a valley

4. the junction of a roof slope with another or with a wall

5. (modifier) relating to or proceeding by way of a valley

   a valley railway

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valley Scientific  

/ văl′ē /

1. A long, narrow region of low land between ranges of mountains, hills, or other high areas, often having a river or stream running along the bottom. Valleys are most commonly formed through the erosion of land by rivers or glaciers. They also form where large regions of land are lowered because of geological faults.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• intervalley
  noun
• valleylike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• valleys
  plural

Etymology

Origin of valley

1250–1300; Middle English valeie, valey < Old French valee, equivalent to val vale ( def. ) + -ee < Latin -āta, feminine of -ātus -ate ¹

Explanation

If you live in a valley, you probably get more fog than they do up in the hills around you. Fog tends to be more common down in the valley, the low area that often forms near a river. If you're into fishing, swimming, and tubing, then a valley is the place for you, because valleys usually have rivers or other streams running through them. The Napa Valley is an area in northern California that is famous for its good wine and food, though technically it's not all a valley; parts of it are quite hilly. Another famous valley, the San Fernando, lies at the foot of the hills of Los Angeles. You might have heard of the infamous "Valley Girl." In movies, Valley girls are usually blonde and say "like" and "totally" a lot. "Like, oh, my God! That low, flat stretch of terrain, is like, totally a valley!"

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

valley valleys

As a slideshow prepared by an executive explained, “We thrive in the valley of death,” the term for the bureaucratic gap where research languishes without being developed into a product.

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026

Local hospitals are bracing for funding cuts, though a carve-out may keep many valley residents from losing coverage.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026

“We were very intentional about the uncanny valley nature of this, so we made it intentionally abstract,” Dema says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026

"We're in a very serious situation - we're in a nature emergency. There are so many species in this valley which are on the brink of extinction," said Simon Rogers from the National Trust.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

As I stood there listening to her clear voice ring out over the valley, I happened to glance down to the raw, red wound in my pony’s leg.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

They conducted the study in two valleys in Kedarnath Musk Deer Sanctuary in Uttarakhand - at Chopta, a tourist spot with busy traffic and visitors, and the largely quiet Madmaheshwar.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

Highs along the coasts and valleys will be in the 90s up to the low 100s in the coming days.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026

Much of Nepal's hydropower infrastructure lies along steep river valleys fed by glaciers -- terrain exposed to floods, landslides and cascading geological hazards.

From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026

The former Conservative councillor grew up in Blackwood, in the south Wales valleys.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

Other wanderers were rare, and of evil sort: trolls might stray down at times out of the northern valleys of the Misty Mountains.

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien

Related Words

• basin
• canyon
• gorge
• lowland
• plain