rift valley

noun

Definition of rift valleynext
as in canyon

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rift valley The rift valleys of East Africa are some of the largest and most spectacular topographic features on Earth. — David Bressan, Forbes.com, 27 May 2025 There is a rift valley on the Rio Grande in the desert of New Mexico where an award-winning home sits. — Jennifer Castenson, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024 Rather than having a central volcano, the Reykjanes Peninsula is dominated by a rift valley with lava fields and cones. — Alexandra Banner, CNN, 18 Mar. 2024 Valles Marineris is thought to be a rift valley, formed by uplift when hot material from the Mars's mantle bubbled up and stretched the planet's crust. — Discover Magazine, 20 Oct. 2010 See All Example Sentences for rift valley
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rift valley
  1. canyon
  2. gorge
  3. gulch
  4. valley
  5. ravine
  6. gully
  7. depression
  8. glen
Noun
  • Just last month, the probe tracked a frenetic cluster of 30 dust devils swirling through the canyons of Mamers Valles, also in the northern hemisphere.
    — Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 17 July 2026
  • Cass was sitting his heaving horse on the rim of the canyon, looking down at some sprays of fresh dirt on the ground below him.
    — Frank C. Hibben, Outdoor Life, 15 July 2026
Definition of canyon
Noun
  • Junked in some gorge like the clothes piled up in Alto Hospicio?
    — Cristina Dorador, The Dial, 14 July 2026
  • The road is cut directly into a cliff and runs above a deep gorge.
    — Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 7 July 2026
Definition of gorge
Noun
  • Plastic waste flutters and settles into gulches, catches in the fencing.
    — Cristina Dorador, The Dial, 14 July 2026
  • Head right, and there came public land, the Shasta-Trinity National Forest with its creeks and gulches and two-bit towns like Peanut and Beegum.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 June 2026
Definition of gulch
Noun
  • Set high on a dramatic plateau overlooking rugged mountains and deep valleys, Hiddn is surrounded by spectacular scenery best explored on foot.
    — Sarah Kingdom, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
  • In this landscape, valleys are where the system settles into comfortable, low-energy configurations, while peaks are high-energy configurations that are relatively unstable.
    — Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 15 July 2026
Definition of valley
Noun
  • Drive had attacked something in that brushy ravine — or something had attacked him.
    — Frank C. Hibben, Outdoor Life, 15 July 2026
  • The three-bedroom house is situated on a private lot overlooking a ravine and surrounded by rows of lush hedges.
    — India Roby, Architectural Digest, 15 July 2026
Definition of ravine
Noun
  • The pitch, as expected, appeared to have lost its spite nearing lunch when Latham, who had hung tough for 74 deliveries, tried turning Jofra Archer to the leg side but found a leading edge that Jacob Bethell superbly snatched out of the air at gully.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 June 2026
  • On June 6, 1966, on a stretch of Highway 51 just south of Hernando, Mississippi, a portly, middle-aged white man named Aubrey Norvell stepped out of a gully, lifted his shotgun and fired three shots at James Meredith, a Black civil rights activist and Air Force veteran.
    — Aram Goudsouzian, The Conversation, 11 June 2026
Definition of gully
Noun
  • Its blockbuster antidepressant Prozac transformed the treatment of depression and fueled Lilly's last major sales boom before the GLP-1 explosion.
    — Angelica Peebles, CNBC, 16 July 2026
  • Research shows that these students are more likely to have poorer physical health, higher rates of depression and lower GPAs than their peers.
    — Tarini Mehta, Sacbee.com, 16 July 2026
Definition of depression
Noun
  • One of the finest temperate rain forests in the United States, the Hoh Rain Forest is worth visiting just for fantastical trails like the Hall of Mosses and Hoh River Trail, which wind through peaceful glens of trees positively dripping with moss.
    — Zoe Baillargeon, Travel + Leisure, 5 July 2026
  • Pause for lunch, then drift through fishing villages, beaches and glens that define Donegal’s rugged character.
    — David Dickstein, Oc Register, 13 May 2026
Definition of glen

Browse Nearby Words

rifts
rift valley
rift valleys
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Rift valley.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rift%20valley. Accessed 20 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on rift valley

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about rift valley

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of raffish

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
child-detective
Spot the Misspelled Word July 2026 Those little red underlines can't help you now...
See All