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
Tom KonvickaExamples of alley in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Craig Shoup, Nashville Tennessean, 21 Oct. 2025
The home had a staff entrance, three elevators, and a separate pool house, with an indoor pool designed to look like a Turkish bath, complete with a sauna and steam showers, a bowling alley, an indoor racquetball court, and a 700-bottle wine wall.
—Jesse Hyde, Rolling Stone, 21 Oct. 2025
After the vehicle set-off, Bruni was shown slightly hunched, walking down a cobbled alley back to the family home, embracing the couple’s teenage daughter.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 21 Oct. 2025
The infant first detecting maternal absence, the pet abandoned in an alley, the friend suddenly iced out have all felt the sudden departure of someone who was expected to be there.
—Anna Holmes, The Atlantic, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for alley
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Noun
Two ghosts were said to haunt the alley after the deaths of two people in the Southern Turf building.
—Craig Shoup, Nashville Tennessean, 21 Oct. 2025
The home had a staff entrance, three elevators, and a separate pool house, with an indoor pool designed to look like a Turkish bath, complete with a sauna and steam showers, a bowling alley, an indoor racquetball court, and a 700-bottle wine wall.
—Jesse Hyde, Rolling Stone, 21 Oct. 2025
After the vehicle set-off, Bruni was shown slightly hunched, walking down a cobbled alley back to the family home, embracing the couple’s teenage daughter.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 21 Oct. 2025
The infant first detecting maternal absence, the pet abandoned in an alley, the friend suddenly iced out have all felt the sudden departure of someone who was expected to be there.
—Anna Holmes, The Atlantic, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for alley
Cite this Entry
“Alley.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alley. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
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