coulee
/ˈkuli/noun
coulee is spelled C-O-U-L-E-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 62,894th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, coulee means “A stream, especially one in the western US or Canada, generally smaller than a bayou; it may (or may not) run dry in summer, may be sluggish…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of coulee is coulees or coulées.
How many letters and syllables are in coulee?
| Letters | 6: C-O-U-L-E-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 62,894th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is coulee?
Coulee appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 62,894th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce coulee?
- UK /ˈkuːli/
- US /ˈkuli/
- Australia /ˈkʉːli/
Coulee has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-coulee.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with coulee?
9 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as coulee from its last stressed vowel (/uli/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of coulee
- coulees plural
- coulée
- cooley
- coulées plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does coulee mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A stream, especially one in the western US or Canada, generally smaller than a bayou; it may (or may not) run dry in summer, may be sluggish, shallow, and wide (forming in effect a pond or slough), or may have formerly cut a deep gulch or ravine, but at present run dry.
- 2
A reach of water in a bayou that is like a slough but deeper.
- 3
A lava flow (whether molten or solidified).
noun
- 1
Alternative form of coulee.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does coulee come from?
From French coulée (“flow”), from couler (“to flow”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).