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glen

glen

8 7.9
A narrow, quiet valley between hills or mountains
  • noun
  • /ɡlɛn/
translation icon : glen
  • At ten paces, the birch thicket gave way to a grassy glen, filled with shifting patches of shade and sunlight.
  • a wooded glen
  • a grassy glen
  • a quiet glen

Examples

  • In a wooded glen not far away, some wandering minstrels have set up camp.

  • Halfway down the glen, the dogs came loping up to greet them.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Somewhere in this glen, by this pool.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Now, we'll cut through to the glen a mile south.

  • The family has lived in this glen for centuries.

  • At the cottage in the glen.

  • Observing a holy silence, he led them back up the glen.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • While my parents were attending the celebration, I decided to go swimming in the lake beyond the glen.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Josephine assumed she'd find the shrine in a wooded glen down a private road.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • The family has lived in this glen for centuries.

Synonyms

valley
vsglen
1.0

A low area of land between hills or mountains often with a river running through it

is narrower and more secluded usually in mountainous regions
dale
vsglen
3 8.2

A wide open valley between gentle hills

is narrower and secluded often in mountains rather than open hills

Compounds

A large dam on the Colorado River in northern Arizona that forms Lake Powell

How Narrow

gorge
32 5.3
glen
8 7.9
valley
1.0

Surface Forms

glen singular
glens plural

Etymology

Glen comes from Scottish Gaelic gleann, which means 'valley'. So a glen is a narrow, quiet valley in the mountains, and that origin helps you picture a small, hidden valley surrounded by hills.