ravine

ra·vine

noun \rə-ˈvēn\

Definition of RAVINE

: a small narrow steep-sided valley that is larger than a gully and smaller than a canyon and that is usually worn by running water

Examples of RAVINE

1. <he urged his horse down into the ravine where there was a thin stream of water flowing>

Origin of RAVINE

French, from Middle French, rapine, rush, from Latin rapina rapine

First Known Use: circa 1772

Related to RAVINE

Synonyms: col, couloir, defile, flume, gap, gill [British], gorge, gulch, gulf, kloof [South African], linn [chiefly Scottish], notch, pass, canyon, 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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Other Geology Terms

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

Rhymes with RAVINE

Andine, arene, baleen, beguine, Benin, benzene, benzine, Bernstein, between, black bean, boreen, bovine, broad bean, buckbean, caffeine, canteen, carbine, careen, chlorine, chopine, chorine, citrine, codeine, colleen, convene, cotquean, cuisine, dasheen, dauphine, demean, demesne, dry-clean, dudeen, eighteen, Essene, e-zine, fanzine, fascine, fifteen, flavine, fluorine, fourteen, gamine, gangrene, glassine, gyrene, Hellene, hoatzin, horsebean, houseclean, khamsin, Ladin, lateen, latrine, Lublin, machine, malines, marine, moline, moreen, morphine, nankeen, naphthene, Nicene, nineteen, nongreen, obscene, offscreen, on-screen, patine, piscine, poteen, praline, preteen, pristine, propine, Rabin, ratteen, red bean, routine, saline, saltine, Salween, sardine, sateen, scalene, serene, shagreen, shebeen, siren, Sistine, sixteen, Slovene, snap bean, soybean, spalpeen, string bean, strychnine, subteen, sunscreen, Szczecin, tacrine, takin, taurine, terrene, terrine, thirteen, Tolkien, tontine, tureen, umpteen, unclean, undine, unseen, vaccine, vitrine, wax bean, white bean, windscreen, yestreen, Yibin, zechin