valley

val·ley | \ ˈva-lē

How to pronounce valley (audio)

\

plural valleys

Definition of valley

1a : an elongate depression of the earth's surface usually between ranges of hills or mountains

b : an area drained by a river and its tributaries

2 : a low point or condition

3a : hollow, depression

b : the place of meeting of two slopes of a roof that form on the plan a reentrant angle

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Examples of valley in a Sentence

the valley will be the first to flood if the river rises

Recent Examples on the Web Chaffee County is considered one of the hidden gems of the Rockies, a relatively unspoiled valley with a diverse economy in tourism as well as agriculture. — New York Times, "Wall Street Eyes Billions in the Colorado’s Water," 3 Jan. 2021 The river runs through a wide, grassy valley, nourishing trees and brush along its banks. — Ian James, AZCentral.com, "Climate's toll on the Colorado River: 'We can weather maybe a couple of years'," 1 Jan. 2021 But when that dream collapses in an intensely tragic way, the valley of ashes across Europe reflects his personal desolation. — Washington Post, "For ‘Gatsby’ fans, 2021 will be the start of remakes. First up: ‘Nick’," 29 Dec. 2020 Half an inch to an inch of rain is expected for coastal and valley areas and one to two inches in the foothills. — Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, "First significant storm of season will bring rain, snow to Southern California," 27 Dec. 2020 Take the same settings into any city or any geometrically intense valley (complete with CPU-accurate wind modeling across its range of elevations), and my machine can barely muster 60 fps. — Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, "Microsoft Flight Simulator in VR: A turbulent start for wide-open skies," 23 Dec. 2020 The spillway was designed and built after the 1927 flood that devastated more than 27,000 square miles of land in the lower Mississippi River valley, displacing 700,000 people. — Blake Pontchartrain, NOLA.com, "Blakeview: The Bonnet Carre Spillway was dedicated 85 years ago this month," 21 Dec. 2020 The river wound down from the north through a wide valley with open patches where ancient oxbows now grew thick with grass. — Jerome B. Robinson, Field & Stream, "FS Classics: Tobacco on the Water," 17 Dec. 2020 Regular firing opened Idaho’s Snake River valley and built a river of grass that connected Wyoming to Washington State, enticing bison from the plains into the Pacific Northwest. — Kiliii Yüyan, History & Culture, "‘There’s good fire and bad fire.’ An Indigenous practice may be key to preventing wildfires," 17 Dec. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'valley.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

17 Jan 2021

Cite this Entry

“Valley.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/valley. Accessed 25 Jan. 2021.

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