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Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon

33 1.7
A very large steep valley carved by the Colorado River in northern Arizona
  • proper noun
  • /ɡrænd ˈkænjən/
translation icon : Gran Cañón
  • Tourists from all over the world visit the Grand Canyon to witness its breathtaking views.
  • Grand Canyon National Park
  • rim of the Grand Canyon
  • Grand Canyon, Arizona

My friend Crystal and I spent six months planning and training for a very intense all day hike of the Grand Canyon.

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Examples

  • She can take you on a tour of the Grand Canyon.

  • Have you ever been to the Grand Canyon?

  • Last fall, I rode to the bottom of the Grand Canyon with a friend.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • We drove overnight, across the desert, to the Grand Canyon.

  • I was in a rainstorm in the Grand Canyon.

  • "I'd like to visit the Grand Canyon someday," Father Lipinski said.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • So I took the Colorado River all the way down through the Grand Canyon and did rapids, which is by far one of the scariest things I've ever done.

  • I have always dreamed of hiking along the rim of the Grand Canyon.

  • The geological formations in the Grand Canyon are millions of years old.

Surface Forms

Morphology

grand + canyon

The phrase combines 'grand' (magnificent, large) with 'canyon' (a steep-sided valley), so its meaning as a very large or impressive canyon is directly derivable from its parts. Although it is a proper name for a specific place, the adjective-noun composition is transparent and predictable to a B1 learner who knows both constituent words, and similar constructions exist cross-linguistically.

Etymology

Grand Canyon gets its name from a simple idea: grand means 'large' and canyon means a 'deep valley' cut by a river. That's why the name refers to the huge deep valley with very steep sides carved by the Colorado River.