| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| alley1 |
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| SYLLABICATION: | al·ley |
| PRONUNCIATION: |   l  |
| NOUN: | Inflected forms: pl. al·leys
1. A narrow street or passageway between or behind city buildings. 2. A path between flower beds or trees in a garden or park. 3. Sports a. A straight narrow course or track, especially a bowling alley. b. Either of the parallel lanes at the sides of a tennis court, which widen the inbounds area for doubles play. | | IDIOM: | up (one's) alley Informal Compatible with one's interests or qualifications: an assignment that is right up your alley. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English alei, from Old French alee, from aler, to walk, from Latin ambul re. See ambulate.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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