as in canyon
a narrow opening between hillsides or mountains that can be used for passage
at one point the steep, ice-encrusted walls of the couloir are no more than 50 feet apart
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of couloir
For more than eight hours, rescuers worked to reach the hikers and lower them from the couloir.
—
Daniella Segura, Sacramento Bee, 27 May 2024
While the walls of the steep, narrowing gully quickly rise to more than 100 feet on either side and the couloir is large enough to be rippled with a few ski lines, a snowball tossed from the top can nearly reach the bottom of the gully and the creek that drains it in winter.
—Christopher Solomon, Outside Online, 22 Mar. 2018
In August, 21-year-old Jadyn Weiss fell 300 feet to her death while descending a steep mountain gully known as the Flying Dutchman couloir.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 2 Oct. 2023
That includes backcountry boarding and skiing with friends, ice climbing, snowshoeing, hiking and climbing couloirs.
—Chris Meehan, Popular Mechanics, 27 Feb. 2023
Rivulets and rocks made the couloir treacherous.
—Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 2023
Six members of the group were ascending the gulley, called a couloir, early Sunday afternoon when the lead climber triggered the avalanche, the sheriff’s office said.
—Gene Johnson, Hartford Courant, 23 Feb. 2023
The view opened up over the other side of the col: the steep west face of Mount Helen and its northwest couloir, still packed with snow in early August, and the peaks of the east side of Titcomb Basin.
—Brendan Leonard, Outside Online, 14 Aug. 2020
Chin and Monod bootpack up a perfect couloir on Surprise Pass, Alberta.
—Grayson Schaffer, Outside Online, 14 May 2015
Daniella Segura, Sacramento Bee, 27 May 2024
While the walls of the steep, narrowing gully quickly rise to more than 100 feet on either side and the couloir is large enough to be rippled with a few ski lines, a snowball tossed from the top can nearly reach the bottom of the gully and the creek that drains it in winter.
—Christopher Solomon, Outside Online, 22 Mar. 2018
In August, 21-year-old Jadyn Weiss fell 300 feet to her death while descending a steep mountain gully known as the Flying Dutchman couloir.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 2 Oct. 2023
That includes backcountry boarding and skiing with friends, ice climbing, snowshoeing, hiking and climbing couloirs.
—Chris Meehan, Popular Mechanics, 27 Feb. 2023
Rivulets and rocks made the couloir treacherous.
—Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 2023
Six members of the group were ascending the gulley, called a couloir, early Sunday afternoon when the lead climber triggered the avalanche, the sheriff’s office said.
—Gene Johnson, Hartford Courant, 23 Feb. 2023
The view opened up over the other side of the col: the steep west face of Mount Helen and its northwest couloir, still packed with snow in early August, and the peaks of the east side of Titcomb Basin.
—Brendan Leonard, Outside Online, 14 Aug. 2020
Chin and Monod bootpack up a perfect couloir on Surprise Pass, Alberta.
—Grayson Schaffer, Outside Online, 14 May 2015
Recent Examples of Synonyms for couloir
Noun
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In Pacific Palisades, already less isolated after the extension of Sunset Boulevard and the 1937 opening of Pacific Coast Highway, single-family homes ventured farther up the canyons.—
Jenny Jarvie,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Feb. 2025
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The mudslide sloshed into the canyon early Jan. 27, forcing the closure of SR-27.—
Trevor Hughes,
USA TODAY,
8 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Strong winds interact with the topography in dangerous ways, flowing down into ravines like the rushing waters of a mountain stream after heavy rains.—
Thomas Fuller,
New York Times,
17 Jan. 2025
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Spokane Valley Fire Department Firefighters rescued an Uber driver on Wednesday afternoon after her car plunged into a ravine in Spokane Valley, Washington.—
Julia Reinstein,
ABC News,
3 Oct. 2024
Noun
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The ship passes through the Iron Gates (a gorge on the Danube) and then proceeds to Bulgaria and Romania.—
Patricia Doherty,
Travel + Leisure,
6 Feb. 2025
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The phenomenon results from rapid tidal currents squeezing between two gorges, making the water rush as quickly and dramatically as, well, a waterfall, only horizontally.—
Emily Matchar,
Smithsonian Magazine,
27 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near couloir
Cite this Entry
“Couloir.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/couloir. Accessed 16 Feb. 2025.
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