What does "glen" mean?
A secluded and narrow valley, especially one with a river running through it; a depression between hills; a dale.
Glen
/ɡlɛn/ name, noun
name, noun ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A secluded and narrow valley, especially one with a river running through it; a depression between hills; a dale.
- Grammar: glen is listed as name, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: bottom, bottom glade, bottoms, combe.
- Useful contrasts: exposure, mountain, open space.
- Usage evidence: That glen was beautiful on a calm day.
How to use "glen"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "glen" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "glen" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "glen" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "glen" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "glen" is acting as name, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "bottom" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "glen", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A secluded and narrow valley, especially one with a river running through it; a depression between hills; a dale.
"What riches too, of gold and jewels, might not be hidden among those forest-shrouded glens and peaks? And beyond, and beyond again, ever new islands, new continents perhaps, an inexhaustible wealth of yet undiscovered worlds."
- 2 Ellipsis of Glen of Imaal Terrier. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
- 3 a narrow secluded valley (in the mountains) wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A Scottish habitational surname from Scottish Gaelic for someone who lives in a valley.
- 2 A male given name transferred from the surname.
"Miller suffered a little when Glen Chapple and Mark Clinton came together but finished the spell with figures of five for 35 from 11 overs, mirroring the performances earlier when Chapple and Mahmood undermined the Warwickshire innings."
- 3 A river in England, mainly in Lincolnshire.
- 4 A river in Northumberland, England, a tributary of the River Till.
- 5 A village in northern County Donegal, Ireland; in Irish An Gleann from gleann (“glen”).
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 A number of places in the United States:; A town in Alcorn County, Mississippi.
- 7 A number of places in the United States:; A census-designated place in Beaverhead County, Montana.
- 8 A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Sioux County, Nebraska, situated in a glen.
- 9 A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Bartlett, Carroll County, New Hampshire.
- 10 A number of places in the United States:; A town in Montgomery County, New York, named after Jacob Glen.
Example
"That glen was beautiful on a calm day."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "glen"?
Common synonyms include: bottom, bottom glade, bottoms, combe, dale, dell.
How do you use "glen" in a sentence?
That glen was beautiful on a calm day.
How do you pronounce "glen"?
Pronounced /ɡlɛn/.
Etymology
From Middle English glen, borrowed from Irish gleann and Scottish Gaelic gleann, Old and Middle Irish glend, glenn (“mountain valley”), from Proto-Celtic *glendos (“valley”), hypothetically from Proto-Indo-European *glend- (“shore”) but the word may have been borrowed from a non-Indo-European substrate language. Compare Manx glion, Welsh glyn. Doublet of glyn.