defile
1
9.6
- noun
- /dɪˈfaɪl/
- Specialized
:
desfiladero
- As they hiked through the mountains, they carefully navigated the narrow defile that led to the valley below.
- a narrow defile
- a rocky defile
- mountain defile
Examples
-
Midafternoon finally brought them to the bottom of the fissure and the narrow defile that lay beyond.
Fiction book (1992) -
Far below, a river snakes through a narrow defile, an empty highway hugging its banks.
Academic text (2011) -
The men descended into it and followed the defile down the hill toward the German lines.
Fiction book (2001) -
I seek a magic chest that lies beyond this defile.
-
Kosutic looked around the narrow defile with critical eyes.
Fiction book (2002) -
In the defile, he paused once more, listening for the dragon.
Fiction book (1992) -
The jeep halted at the turn of the defile, the engine smoking.
Fiction book (1993) -
At Wadi Kyd, as he had feared, the ravine walls narrowed to a defile passable by camels but not by military vehicles.
Fiction book (1993) -
As the Carthaginian army marched over trails choked with snow and ice, Celtic tribes repeatedly ambushed them in narrow, boulder-riddled defiles.
Academic text (2007) -
The explorers were thrilled to find a hidden defile that cut through the rocks, revealing a stunning view.
Synonyms
32
5.3
A deep narrow valley with steep rocky sides, often with a river
9
9.5
A narrow valley with steep sides and a small stream
8
3.2
A low route through mountains that people or vehicles use
7
7.9
A shallow valley or gully where water may flow
1
9.5
A deep narrow valley with steep sides and a stream running through it
A narrow gap in a mountain ridge where a river flows
Idioms
Treat a holy place like a temple with disrespect by damaging or polluting it
How Narrow
Surface Forms
Etymology
Defile for a narrow pass comes from French parts de- ('off') and file ('line'), as in 'single file', where people move one after another. So a defile is a very narrow gap where travellers or soldiers must go through in a single line.