Gully Meaning
/ˈɡʌli/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA trench, ravine or narrow channel which was worn by water flow, especially on a hillside.
nounA small valley.
Sentence Examples
It's near what looks like a little gully.
I fell over a ledge of rock into a gully below.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Rainwater carved a deep ____ in the hillside after the storm.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The hiker had to be very careful as she crossed the deep ____ that had been carved into the side of the mountain.
Word Origin & History
Origin uncertain. Possibly from a variant of Middle English golet (“esophagus, gullet”), from Old French goulet, from Latin gula (“throat”). Shift in meaning in Middle English to "water channel, ravine" may have been influenced by Middle English gylle, gille, galle (“deep narrow valley, ravine”); see gill. Compare Dutch geul. Alternatively, from a diminutive of dialectal gull (“fissue, chasm”) + -y (diminutive suffix). See gull, gullick.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"A new drainage run and rainwater gullies are to be installed between the station and Oxford Road, with completion planned for December 1."
— 2021 June 16, “Network News: Drainage work at Guiseley station”, in RAIL, number 933, page 19:
"With that I made my mind up, took out my gully, opened it with my teeth, and cut one strand after another[…]"
— 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC, part IV (The Stockade), page 139:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
Rainwater carved a deep ____ in the hillside after the storm.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The hiker had to be very careful as she crossed the deep ____ that had been carved into the side of the mountain.