as in streets
a narrow passage between buildings
One can spend days exploring all the alleys and backstreets of the old city.
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Recent Examples of alleys
The year before that, massive floating clown heads popped up in Downtown Crossing alleys, giving people a reason to look up from their phones.
—
Neal Riley, CBS News, 7 Jan. 2026
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
Instead, as part of the national INA-Casa program, the architects Ludovico Quaroni and Mario Ridolfi created the Tiburtino neighborhood, a hilly maze of sloping streets, shaded stairways, and curving alleys.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 16 Dec. 2025
Some walls still carried the scars of shrapnel, and despairing alleys were submerged in rainwater.
—Nabil Salih, Time, 4 Dec. 2025
Sample local street foods like taiyaki and senbei from family-run stalls nestled along narrow alleys.
—Bon Appétit, Bon Appetit Magazine, 4 Dec. 2025
Even bowling alleys—the fantasy site for mid-century, prosocial communion, thanks to the political scientist Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone—require programming and then operating screens to keep score.
—Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 23 Oct. 2025
Stockholm offers travelers exploration through cobblestone alleys that wind along canals, and colorful townhouses and cafés that have been shaped by centuries of influence since its founding as a trading port in 1252.
—Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 15 Oct. 2025
Rooftop pools, co-working lounges, bowling alleys, screening rooms, an on-site grocery, and a 24/7 attended lobby rival a five-star hotel.
—Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 6 Oct. 2025
Neal Riley, CBS News, 7 Jan. 2026
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
Instead, as part of the national INA-Casa program, the architects Ludovico Quaroni and Mario Ridolfi created the Tiburtino neighborhood, a hilly maze of sloping streets, shaded stairways, and curving alleys.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 16 Dec. 2025
Some walls still carried the scars of shrapnel, and despairing alleys were submerged in rainwater.
—Nabil Salih, Time, 4 Dec. 2025
Sample local street foods like taiyaki and senbei from family-run stalls nestled along narrow alleys.
—Bon Appétit, Bon Appetit Magazine, 4 Dec. 2025
Even bowling alleys—the fantasy site for mid-century, prosocial communion, thanks to the political scientist Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone—require programming and then operating screens to keep score.
—Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 23 Oct. 2025
Stockholm offers travelers exploration through cobblestone alleys that wind along canals, and colorful townhouses and cafés that have been shaped by centuries of influence since its founding as a trading port in 1252.
—Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 15 Oct. 2025
Rooftop pools, co-working lounges, bowling alleys, screening rooms, an on-site grocery, and a 24/7 attended lobby rival a five-star hotel.
—Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 6 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for alleys
Noun
-
Their midweight thickness offers enough cushion for miles of walking through the streets of New York City, without causing sweat.—
Ali Faccenda,
PEOPLE,
8 Jan. 2026
-
This tragedy is the result of the administration sending federal agents onto our streets against the wishes of local law enforcement, including our respected Police Chief Brian O'Hara.—
WCCO Staff,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
There was so much snow that winter that ski resorts around Lake Tahoe had to close for days at a time to dig out chair lifts and clear roads.—
Paul Rogers,
Mercury News,
15 Jan. 2026
-
The last two years, the weather has been brutal in January -- the snow and the bad roads.—
Tiney Ricciardi,
Denver Post,
15 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Here's your daily look at traffic on major highways in the Kansas City area.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
9 Jan. 2026
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Most automakers limit self-driving features in personal vehicles to highways, where traffic patterns are more predictable.—
Nora Eckert,
USA Today,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Alleys.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/alleys. Accessed 19 Jan. 2026.
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