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

Chicago’s alleys could do the same. —Liam Stanton, Chicago Tribune, 17 Mar. 2026

One young attendee could be seen lying unconscious in vomit in an alley along West Broadway while his friend called the police. —Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald, 16 Mar. 2026

It was built in 2022 in phase one of Soho Square, a luxury community with amenities such as a pool, gym, bowling alley and more. —Kelley Bruss, Dallas Morning News, 16 Mar. 2026

Kade Speckman, Lutheran’s 6–foot-9 senior power forward, used his size to punish the Raptors, pouring in 13 points and not one, but two alley oops that Makkai dished out. —Alissa Noe, Denver Post, 15 Mar. 2026

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
• down one's alley
• (right) up/down someone's alley
• up one'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