Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A deep narrow valley or gorge in the earth's surface worn by running water.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A raging flood.
  • noun A long deep hollow worn by a stream or torrent of water; hence, any deep narrow gorge, as in a mountain; a gully.
  • noun Same as raven.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun obsolete A torrent of water.
  • noun A deep and narrow hollow, usually worn by a stream or torrent of water; a gorge; a mountain cleft.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A deep narrow valley or gorge in the earth's surface worn by running water.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a deep narrow steep-sided valley (especially one formed by running water)

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French, from Old French, violent rush, from Latin rapīna, rapine; see ravin.]

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Examples

  • His casual remark to Dr. Werner, and to the landscape, as Grushnitsky's corpse topples into a ravine is a masterpiece of the laconic: "Finita la commedia!"

    A Doomed Young Man 2005

  • His casual remark to Dr. Werner, and to the landscape, as Grushnitsky's corpse topples into a ravine is a masterpiece of the laconic: "Finita la commedia!"

    A Doomed Young Man 2005

  • But instead of going to his horse, he followed what she called the ravine—really a trickle of muddy water that flowed past the shack and down toward another gully between the rock formations … in which, Reilly saw after only a little climbing, there sat a lean-to made of sticks, peat, and rock.

    LADY of SKYE PATRICIA CABOT 2001

  • Then he went to what he called the ravine, still avoiding the path, so that as a matter of fact he made his way up on his hands and knees mostly, very carefully and slowly amongst the loose stones, till by holding on to a bush he brought his eyes on a level with the piece of flat ground in front of the farmhouse.

    The Rover 1923

  • The 'ravine' is within mortar range of the flak bunker at Oakcrest *.

    West Lynn Avenue 2008

  • Designed at the early stages of the cold war by a team of Nazi engineers, the ravine is really an anti-tank ditch, designed as a place of death for the expected American invaders.

    West Lynn Avenue 2008

  • After tracking in the frost awhile, I sat downwind and across a ravine from a doe and two fawns.

    Everyday Enlightenments 2007

  • The chopper crashed into a mountain ravine on Tuesday, apparently after being hit by rebel fire.

    KIA KIA/BNR 2006

  • This lonely ravine is called Far Easedale, and at the upper end there formerly stood a cottage named Blentarn Ghyll.

    A Book of Golden Deeds 1864

  • The bed of this immense ravine is at this day called the Charsoo, a

    Glimpses of Life and Manners in Persia 1856

Comments

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  • Leslie Ann Levine was born into a dry ravine.

    October 29, 2007