alley
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alley¹
- /ˈæl.i/
Rhymes with -æli
Where it comes from
From Middle English aleye, from Anglo-Norman aleie, feminine of alé, past participle of aler (“to go”) (French aller). Doublet of allée.
noun alleys
-
A narrow street or passageway, especially one through the middle of a block giving access to the rear of lots of buildings.
The parking lot to my friend's apartment building is in the alley.
Similar: alleyway
-
The area between the outfielders.
He hit one deep into the alley.
Similar: gap
-
An establishment where bowling is played.
Similar: bowling alley
-
An elongated wooden strip of floor along which a bowling ball is rolled.
Similar: lane
- The extra area between the sidelines or tramlines on a tennis court that is used for doubles matches.
- A walk or passage in a garden or park, bordered by rows of trees or bushes. I know each lane and every alley green.
- A passageway between rows of pews in a church.
- Any passage having the entrance represented as wider than the exit, so as to give the appearance of length.
- The space between two rows of compositors' stands in a printing office.
- A group of clowns; the collective noun for clowns. […] alley of clowns had sprung like a fungus growth from the dung heap of the First World War.
Similar: alley, alleyway, backs, bunnyrun, chare, chore, close, ennog, entry, fold, gangway, gant, gennel, ginnel, gunnel, gitty, gully, gullyway, hocket, jennel, jigger, jitty, lane, laneway, loke, passage, pend, rabbit run, shut, snickelway
alley²
- /ˈæl.i/
Rhymes with -æli
Where it comes from
Diminutive of alabaster, from which they were once made.
Alley³
proper noun Alleys · Aley
- A surname.
- A female given name.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: alleyway, back street, skittle alley, bowling alley, allée, hallway, driveway, street, lane, sidewalk, footpath, walkway, crossing, gridlock, bar, beam
Translations
Every language
noun narrow street
| Español | callejón, callejuela, calleja, esquinita, callizo, callejo |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 골목 golmok, 골목길 golmokgil |
| 日本語 | 裏通り uradōri, 路地 roji |
| 中文 | 弄 nòng, 里弄 lǐlòng, 衚衕 /胡同 hútòng, 巷子 xiàngzi |
| हिन्दी | गली galī, कूचा kūcā |
| Kiswahili | uchochoro |
| Português | beco, ruela, travessa, viela |
| Français | ruelle, allée, venelle |
| Deutsch | Gasse |
| Italiano | vicolo, calle, strettoia, viuzza, carruggio, vialetto |
| Ελληνικά | δρομάκι dromáki, δρομίσκος dromískos |
| Română | străduță, stradelă, alee |
| Русский | переу́лок pereúlok, алле́я alléja, але́йка aléjka, у́лочка úločka |
| Tiếng Việt | hẻm |
| العربية | زُقَاق zuqāq |
| עברית | סִמְטָה simtá |
noun passage in a garden or park, bordered by rows of trees
| Русский | аллея alleja |
|---|
Talk about this word "alley." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/alley. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. alley. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/alley "alley." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/alley.Cite this
@misc{alley_2026,
title = {alley},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/alley},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
