alley

1 of 2

noun (1)

al·​ley ˈa-lē 

plural alleys

1

: a garden or park walk bordered by trees or bushes

2

a(1)

: a grassed enclosure for bowling or skittles

(2)

: a hardwood lane for bowling

also : a room or building housing a group of such lanes

b

: the space on each side of a tennis doubles court between the sideline and the service sideline

c

: an area in a baseball outfield between two outfielders when they are in normal positions

hit a line drive into the alley

3

: a narrow street

especially : a thoroughfare through the middle of a block giving access to the rear of lots or buildings

4

: an extensive region where destructive natural phenomena of a specified type (such as tornadoes) occur often or are likely to occur

The most obvious tornado alley extends from the plains of northwest Texas eastward into north Texas and then northward across Oklahoma, Kansas, and eastern Nebraska.

—Tom Konvicka

alley

2 of 2

noun (2)

plural alleys

: a playing marble

especially : one of superior quality

Phrases

up one's alley or less commonly down one's alley

: suited to one's own tastes or abilities

a job that's right up her alley

Examples of alley in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

According to investigators, Ilunga slipped a pink coat onto Blessing — the same coat mentioned in the Amber Alert — then led her into an alley where she was found by a citizen, bringing the search to an end. —Mitchell Willetts, Kansas City Star, 30 Jan. 2025

With either option, Arnold said, an alley behind the center would be completely fenced off and the park lights would be LED and be on a timer system to prevent light pollution late at night. —Jesse Wright, Chicago Tribune, 28 Jan. 2025

Those instructions came from police officer Terence D. Sutton, who then chased Hylton-Brown in a car for more than 10 blocks, including down an alley with emergency lights and sirens turned off, according to federal prosecutors. —Aysha Bagchi, USA TODAY, 23 Jan. 2025

The two teenage boys were getting ready to fight out in the diner’s back alley when gunshots rang out, KRQE reported. —Sean Neumann, People.com, 17 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Anglo-French alee, from aler to go

Noun (2)

by shortening and alteration from alabaster

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1720, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing alley

• alley cat
• alley-oop
• blind alley
• bowling alley
• (right) up/down someone's alley

Kids Definition

alley

noun

al·​ley

ˈal-ē

plural alleys

1

: a garden or park walk bordered by trees or bushes

2

: a narrow wooden floor on which balls are rolled in bowling

also : a room or building housing a number of such alleys

3

: a narrow street or passageway between buildings