wadi

noun

wa·​di ˈwä-dē How to pronounce wadi (audio)
1
: the bed or valley of a stream in regions of southwestern Asia and northern Africa that is usually dry except during the rainy season and that often forms an oasis : gully, wash
2
: a shallow usually sharply defined depression in a desert region

Examples of wadi in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The building was built in a wadi. CBS News, 14 Dec. 2022 The wadi stretched outside the window. Ruth Margalit, The New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2021 The fresh air, the space while clambering over rocks in a wadi, or valley, and the austere style of the Bear Grylls camp appears for now to offer the opposite of that. Jon Gambrell, Star Tribune, 9 Oct. 2020 Another of Bogaczewicz’s photographs captures a Saudi family having a picnic under a highway overpass, much as their bedouin ancestors might have stopped their caravansary by a desert wadi to have a meal. Wired, 26 Nov. 2019 Laughter of couples crossing the lawn, sinking into the darkness of the wadi. Amos Oz, Harper's magazine, 10 Apr. 2019 But in the late 1800s, the Ottoman Empire began a new settlement at Jerash, mostly on the eastern bank of the wadi, on top of the ancient remains of that half of the city. Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, 30 May 2018 The spring that filled the Birketein reservoir, where modern residents swim, would have supplied about a quarter of the ancient city, along with water from upstream in the wadi. Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, 30 May 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wadi.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Arabic wādi

First Known Use

1828, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of wadi was in 1828

Dictionary Entries Near wadi

Cite this Entry

“Wadi.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wadi. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

wadi

noun
wa·​di ˈwäd-ē How to pronounce wadi (audio)
: the bed or valley of a stream in regions of southwestern Asia and northern Africa that is usually dry except during the rainy season

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