canyon

can·yon

noun \ˈkan-yən\

Definition of CANYON

1

: a deep narrow valley with steep sides and often with a stream flowing through it

2

: something resembling a canyon <the city's concrete canyons>

Variants of CANYON

can·yon also ca·ñon \ˈkan-yən\

Examples of CANYON

1. <as the scouts made their way through the canyon, they marveled at the sheer walls of rock on both sides>

Origin of CANYON

American Spanish cañón, probably alteration of obsolete Spanish callón, augmentative of calle street, from Latin callis footpath

First Known Use: 1834

Related to CANYON

Synonyms

col, couloir, defile, flume, gap, gill [British], gorge, gulch, gulf, kloof [South African], linn [chiefly Scottish], notch, pass, ravine, saddle

Related Words

abyss, chasm, cirque, cleft, crevasse, crevice, cwm [chiefly British], fissure; combe (also coombe or coomb) [British], dale, dell, glen, hollow, shut-in, vale, valley; basin, floodplain, kettle; arroyo, barranca (also barranco), coulee, draw, gully (also gulley), gutter, nullah, trench, trough, wadi, wash [West]

Other Geology Terms

anthracite, boulder, cwm, erratic, igneous, intrusive, mesa, sedimentary, silt, swale

Rhymes with CANYON

banyan

canyon

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Very narrow, deep valley cut by a river through resistant rock and having steep, almost vertical sides. Canyons occur most often in arid or semiarid regions. Some canyons (e.g., the Grand Canyon) are spectacular natural features. See also submarine canyon.