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couloir


cou·loir

noun \kül-ˈwär\

Definition of COULOIR

: a steep mountainside gorge

Examples of COULOIR

  1. <at one point the steep, ice-encrusted walls of the couloir are no more than 50 feet apart>

Origin of COULOIR

French, literally, passage, from couler
First Known Use: 1822

Related to COULOIR

Synonyms: col, canyon, 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]
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