alley

1 of 2

noun (1)

al·​ley ˈa-lē 

plural alleys

1

: a garden or park walk bordered by trees or bushes

2

a(1)

: a grassed enclosure for bowling or skittles

(2)

: a hardwood lane for bowling

also : a room or building housing a group of such lanes

b

: the space on each side of a tennis doubles court between the sideline and the service sideline

c

: an area in a baseball outfield between two outfielders when they are in normal positions

hit a line drive into the alley

3

: a narrow street

especially : a thoroughfare through the middle of a block giving access to the rear of lots or buildings

4

: an extensive region where destructive natural phenomena of a specified type (such as tornadoes) occur often or are likely to occur

The most obvious tornado alley extends from the plains of northwest Texas eastward into north Texas and then northward across Oklahoma, Kansas, and eastern Nebraska.

—Tom Konvicka

see also up one's alley

alley

2 of 2

noun (2)

plural alleys

: a playing marble

especially : one of superior quality

Examples of alley in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Assisi’s grid of narrow streets, vaulted alleys, and stone stairways largely follows the town’s Roman origins. —Elizabeth Heath, Travel + Leisure, 23 Dec. 2025

Hours later, Baugh was found shot dead in a northside alley about six miles away. —Stephen Swanson, CBS News, 22 Dec. 2025

The video shows the 18 seconds before the shooting, in which time nothing appears to be thrown from the alley the Palestinian teenager comes from. —Ibrahim Dahman, CNN Money, 21 Dec. 2025

This sketch is ripe for James Austin Johnson and Ariana Grande especially, right up their alley. —Andy Hoglund, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Anglo-French alee, from aler to go

Noun (2)

by shortening and alteration from alabaster

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1720, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing alley

• alley cat
• alley-oop
• blind alley
• bowling alley
• (right) up/down someone's alley

Rhymes for alley

• alli
• bally
• calli
• challis
• dally
• galley
• galli
• lally
• mallee
• mally
• rally
• salley

Kids Definition

alley

noun

al·​ley

ˈal-ē

plural alleys

1

: a garden or park walk bordered by trees or bushes

2

: a narrow wooden floor on which balls are rolled in bowling

also : a room or building housing a number of such alleys

3

: a narrow street or passageway between buildings