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valley

[ val-ee ]
/ ˈvÊl i /
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See synonyms for: valley / valleys on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural val·leys.
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Origin of valley

1250–1300; Middle English valeie, valey <Old French valee, equivalent to val vale + -ee <Latin -āta, feminine of -ātus -ate1

OTHER WORDS FROM valley

val·ley·like, adjectivein·ter·val·ley, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use valley in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for valley

valley
/ (ˈvĂŠlÉȘ) /

noun
a long depression in the land surface, usually containing a river, formed by erosion or by movements in the earth's crust
the broad area drained by a single river systemthe Thames valley
any elongated depression resembling a valley
the junction of a roof slope with another or with a wall
(modifier) relating to or proceeding by way of a valleya valley railway

Word Origin for valley

C13: from Old French valee, from Latin vallis
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

Scientific definitions for valley

valley
[ vălâ€Čē ]

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.
The American HeritageŸ Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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