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.

---

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

---

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.

---

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

The uncanny valley is live for consumption, for free, at No. 300 on the Roku Channel’s Live TV Guide.

From Slate ● Aug. 16, 2026

Military personnel and an Army helicopter have also been supporting firefighters in Cwmavon, a village in the Afan valley.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

The setting is the Prespa lakes region, a mountain valley where three countries—Albania, Greece and North Macedonia—share borders, a park and abundant natural resources.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

While mining has temporarily stopped in Amin's village, not far from his home, in Gulak-Dara valley, dozens of diggers were carving into the mountainside.

From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026

The next morning, a gray-pink dawn it was, the growing light soft on the snow, we came down from the hills into the valley, a valley we knew and loved so well.

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

“Three major rivers, flowing in three different directions, carving out the three valleys . . . gave rise to three great civilizations—French, German, and Italian.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

"I then went around south Wales valleys identifying historically documented sites which needed additional testing," he added.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

“If a fire starts, there is a high risk of rapid fire growth with increased potential of plume-dominated behavior across the interior valleys, mountains and deserts,” said the National Weather Service office in Oxnard.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026

In coherent light, the waves remain synchronized so that their peaks and valleys follow a predictable pattern.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 8, 2026

Could it be that somewhere beyond there are more valleys like this, other places that have been spared?

From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien

Related Words

• basin
• canyon
• gorge
• lowland
• plain