Dell
noun /dɛl/ — A small, secluded valley — sheltered, gentle, and rarely on any map.
Definition
A small valley, usually among trees; a pleasant, sheltered hollow in the landscape, often with a stream.
Beyond the definition
A dell has the intimacy that large landscapes don't — it is a small place that wraps around you. The word itself feels sheltered, short and round. Dells appear in pastoral poetry as places of rest and concealment.
Origin & history
From Old English dell — a hollow, valley. A Germanic root related to German Tal (valley). The small, soft word for the small, soft place.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
They found the dell by accident, a hollow between two hills with a stream running through it.
She'd been looking for somewhere like this — a dell, small enough to feel known.
The pastoral tradition loves a dell: a sheltered place where the world outside doesn't quite reach.
How to use it
This entry uses a noun. Follow the examples for articles and singular or plural forms; not every noun takes “a” or “an.”
Choose “Dell” when the meaning fits your context: A small valley, usually among trees; a pleasant, sheltered hollow in the landscape, often with a stream.
Synonyms
hollow, vale, glen, dingle, depression, basin
Antonyms
hill, ridge, exposed plateau
Related words
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Fictional scene
Sheltered hollow in a wood
Inside a room, a person is warm while outside the window, trees sway in a storm, suggesting a hollowed landscape.
The sense of being protected and enclosed within a landscape is analogous to a dell, a small, pleasant hollow that offers shelter from the outside world.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration
Questions about this word
What does "Dell" mean?
Dell is noun meaning: A small, secluded valley — sheltered, gentle, and rarely on any map.. A small valley, usually among trees; a pleasant, sheltered hollow in the landscape, often with a stream.
Where does the word "Dell" come from?
From Old English dell — a hollow, valley. A Germanic root related to German Tal (valley). The small, soft word for the small, soft place.