plural alleys
1
: a garden or park walk bordered by trees or bushes
2
a(1)
: a grassed enclosure for bowling or skittles
(2)
: a hardwood lane for bowling
also
: a room or building housing a group of such lanes
b
: the space on each side of a tennis doubles court between the sideline and the service sideline
c
: an area in a baseball outfield between two outfielders when they are in normal positions
hit a line drive into the alley
3
: a narrow street
especially
: a thoroughfare through the middle of a block giving access to the rear of lots or buildings
4
: an extensive region where destructive natural phenomena of a specified type (such as tornadoes) occur often or are likely to occur
The most obvious tornado alley extends from the plains of northwest Texas eastward into north Texas and then northward across Oklahoma, Kansas, and eastern Nebraska.—
Tom Konvicka
Tom KonvickaExamples of alley in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Chris Klimek, Vulture, 13 Mar. 2025
His teenage nephew was gunned down by police in a dark riverside alley during an anti-drug operation in suburban Caloocan city in August 2017.
—Jim Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2025
Later, surveillance video captured the same Nissan driving through alleys near the scene of the shooting, the complaint alleges.
—Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune, 10 Mar. 2025
They are armed with automatic weapons – largely smuggled from the United States – and move unhindered through the narrow, winding alleys of their neighborhood strongholds in Port-au-Prince, which national and multinational police forces are often unable to navigate in their bulky armored vehicles.
—Linnea Fehrm, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for alley
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Noun
Sure enough, when Richard finds his way into that alley mere seconds later, the jig is like a beloved 2009 Pixar film: up.
—Chris Klimek, Vulture, 13 Mar. 2025
His teenage nephew was gunned down by police in a dark riverside alley during an anti-drug operation in suburban Caloocan city in August 2017.
—Jim Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2025
Later, surveillance video captured the same Nissan driving through alleys near the scene of the shooting, the complaint alleges.
—Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune, 10 Mar. 2025
They are armed with automatic weapons – largely smuggled from the United States – and move unhindered through the narrow, winding alleys of their neighborhood strongholds in Port-au-Prince, which national and multinational police forces are often unable to navigate in their bulky armored vehicles.
—Linnea Fehrm, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for alley
Cite this Entry
“Alley.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alley. Accessed 22 Mar. 2025.
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