valley

American  

[val-ee] / ˈvæl i /

noun

plural

valleys

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

• intervalley noun
• valleylike adjective

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

Example Sentences

The burst waters course through the Goma valley, drawing attention from security forces stationed at a paramilitary camp in Dzanak five miles away.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

His new setting is peaceful, aside from occasional thunderclaps rolling through the valley during the rainy season, and the wildlife.

From Slate • Mar. 30, 2026

Above the valley the path stretches away over high ground, parts of which have now been laid with giant flagstones.

From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026

The valley has long, brutal summers with temperatures that swell to 120 degrees.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2026

That didn’t mean I couldn’t show them that there was somebody in that valley and in that house who remembered what was right and good, and her name was Ida B. Applewood.

From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan

Related Words

• basin
• canyon
• gorge
• lowland
• plain