swale
3
9.2
- noun
- /sweɪl/
- Specialized
:
canal
- The sun had broken through the cirrus in the west, and silver light flew down through a swale of aspens on the far side of the reservoir.
- grassy swale
- swale that dips
- green swale
Examples
-
During a cloudburst, torrents gushed out of them, carried from the streets and from the natural drainage swales high in the grassy eastern hills above town.
Fiction book (1998) -
Finally, the grasses parted and a deer stepped out of the swale.
Fiction book (1994) -
In a swale of green
Academic text (1996) -
Running across the swale in front of Snake Creek.
-
To his right, a swale of trees sank into steam flowing from the pool.
Fiction book (1992) -
Across the street from the entrances to the building, one could see dry swales.
Blog text (14) -
In the swales grew the vivid yellow blossoms of Menzies' wallflower, one of the most endangered plants on the planet.
Academic text (2010) -
Over barren hills and dry swales rolled the motor-wagon, halting for the night at a hostel operated by an order of white-faced women.
Fiction book (1993) -
Where I had expected miles of flat and empty prairie, the land rolled away in riffling swales of deep green wheat, fields of golden sunflowers, and pools of pale blue flax.
Fiction book (1996) -
The children played happily in the grassy swale after the rain, where water had collected.
Synonyms
4
3.2
A narrow channel dug in the ground that carries away extra water
4
8.9
A wet, muddy area of land with slow-moving water where plants grow
A low wet area that holds rain for a short time
Antonyms
How Wet
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word swale names a low, often wet strip of ground or shallow channel that holds or moves water. A helpful way to remember it is to imagine the land 'swallowing' rain into a hollow, which is why a swale collects and drains water.