wadi

noun

wa·di | \ˈwä-dē

\

Definition of wadi

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

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, "Decades of aerial photos reveal how an ancient desert city got its water," 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, "Decades of aerial photos reveal how an ancient desert city got its water," 30 May 2018 One geologist, Ernie Berg, noticed that a wadi, or ancient riverbed, took a mysterious turn. — Stanley Reed, New York Times, "An Oil Giant Is Taking Big Steps. Saudi Arabia Can’t Afford for It to Slip.," 16 June 2018 In northern Jordan, along a wadi once called the Golden River, the ancient city of Jerash sits uneasily alongside its modern namesake. — Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, "Decades of aerial photos reveal how an ancient desert city got its water," 30 May 2018 Hayonim Cave in Western Galilee, Israel, overlooks the right bank of a large wadi a few miles from the Mediterranean shore. — Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, "Early Middle-Eastern culture had a thing for gazelle scapula," 1 May 2018

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

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about wadi

Dictionary Entries near wadi

Statistics for wadi

Last Updated

3 Nov 2018

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for wadi

The first known use of wadi was in 1828

See more words from the same year

Keep scrolling for more

WORD OF THE DAY

susurrous

full of whispering sounds

Test Your Vocabulary

Difficult Vocab Quiz

Which is a synonym of discomfit?

Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

TAKE THE QUIZ

SCRABBLE® Sprint

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games