as in canyon
a narrow opening between hillsides or mountains that can be used for passage
at one point the steep, ice-encrusted walls of the couloir are no more than 50 feet apart
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of couloir
After straying from their intended path, the duo became stranded after attempting to descend an extremely steep alpine couloir without climbing equipment.
—
Owen Clarke, Outside, 13 Oct. 2025
Many of these ski lines are clustered in the same drainages, but while in years past Noyes has been able to complete multiple descents in a day, this year, the hot April sun shortened the windows during which those couloirs would be safe from wet avalanches.
—Jake Stern, Outside Online, 25 Apr. 2025
For more than eight hours, rescuers worked to reach the hikers and lower them from the couloir.
—Daniella Segura, Sacramento Bee, 27 May 2024
In August, 21-year-old Jadyn Weiss fell 300 feet to her death while descending a steep mountain gully known as the Flying Dutchman couloir.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 2 Oct. 2023
Rivulets and rocks made the couloir treacherous.
—Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 2023
That includes backcountry boarding and skiing with friends, ice climbing, snowshoeing, hiking and climbing couloirs.
—Chris Meehan, Popular Mechanics, 27 Feb. 2023
Owen Clarke, Outside, 13 Oct. 2025
Many of these ski lines are clustered in the same drainages, but while in years past Noyes has been able to complete multiple descents in a day, this year, the hot April sun shortened the windows during which those couloirs would be safe from wet avalanches.
—Jake Stern, Outside Online, 25 Apr. 2025
For more than eight hours, rescuers worked to reach the hikers and lower them from the couloir.
—Daniella Segura, Sacramento Bee, 27 May 2024
In August, 21-year-old Jadyn Weiss fell 300 feet to her death while descending a steep mountain gully known as the Flying Dutchman couloir.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 2 Oct. 2023
Rivulets and rocks made the couloir treacherous.
—Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 2023
That includes backcountry boarding and skiing with friends, ice climbing, snowshoeing, hiking and climbing couloirs.
—Chris Meehan, Popular Mechanics, 27 Feb. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for couloir
Noun
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Towering canyon walls rise on either side of the river, while the cave itself is a small, shadowed recess in the rock.—
Evie Carrick,
Travel + Leisure,
25 Oct. 2025
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Badlands, North Dakota North Dakota’s Badlands is known for its rugged landscape, including sweeping hills, prairie grasses, canyons and rock formations, as well as native wildlife.—
Angelica Stabile,
FOXNews.com,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
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In the Dominican Republic, 12 provinces are on red alert due to possible flooding of rivers, streams and ravines as well as flash floods and landslides.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
25 Oct. 2025
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His aged dog disappears and is later found dead at the bottom of a ravine.—
Frank Scheck,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
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As sublime as countertop donuts and as nourishing as a rack of girlie magazines, Clerks is a terrific movie gorge.—
Duane Byrge,
HollywoodReporter,
19 Oct. 2025
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Among these is the Ravenna Gorge Christmas Market in a true fairy-tale setting—a gorge under the 131-foot-high viaduct of the Höllental railway in the Black Forest Highlands.—
Sophie Friedman,
AFAR Media,
18 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Couloir.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/couloir. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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