canyon

noun

can·​yon ˈkan-yən 

variants or less commonly cañon

1

: a deep narrow valley with steep sides and often with a stream flowing through it

2

: something resembling a canyon

the city's concrete canyons

Synonyms

• col
• couloir
• defile
• flume
• gap
• gill [British]
• gorge
• gulch
• gulf
• kloof [South African]
• linn [chiefly Scottish]
• notch
• pass
• ravine
• saddle

Examples of canyon in a Sentence

as the scouts made their way through the canyon, they marveled at the sheer walls of rock on both sides

Recent Examples on the Web

Don’t forget to stop at Oak Creek Vista at the head of the canyon among the ponderosa pines. —Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 18 Oct. 2024

Whether hosting professionals or amateurs, Greater Zion golf offers an array of topographies and geographic features including red rocks, black lava flows, red hills, canyons, plateaus and waterways. —Michael Loré, Forbes, 18 Oct. 2024

Little Wild Horse Canyon Just outside Goblin Valley lies one of Utah’s most popular slot canyons, Little Wild Horse Canyon. —Carrie Dennis, Travel + Leisure, 6 Oct. 2024

Management guidance for Bears Ears National Monument is the first plan developed in collaboration with Native American tribes, five of which consider the piney highlands and redrock canyons west of Monticello, Utah a culturally sacred homeland. —Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 3 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

American Spanish cañón, probably alteration of obsolete Spanish callón, augmentative of calle street, from Latin callis footpath

First Known Use

1834, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

canyon

noun

can·​yon

variants also cañon

ˈkan-yən

: a deep narrow valley with steep sides and often with a stream flowing through it