From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishalleyal‧ley /ˈæli/ ●●○ noun 1 ROAD/PATH[countable] (also alleyway) a narrow street between or behind buildings, not usually used by cars The alley led to the railway bridge. She found the side alley where the stage door was located.2 → right up/down somebody’s alley → blind alley, bowling alley
Examples from the Corpus
alley• Entry is gained from an alley on the side, so narrow that it can at best take a single car.• It overlooked an alley, and the bay windows were sun-blocked by the townhouse at 93.• Others went in alleys behind the buildings and lofted rocks and bottles over the roofs.• A narrow alley led up between the houses to the main street.• Locals welcome any efforts to beautify the alleys.• A delivery truck blocked the alley.• And being a dead end, the alley led to nowhere else.• Women in white aprons gossiped in the alley between the apartment blocks.• Meredith glanced up uncertainly at the four-storey buildings soaring up forbiddingly on either side of the alley where they were walking.• Back in the main town, we explored twisting alleys which eventually led us to the old Frankish quarter.Origin alley (1300-1400) Old French alee, from aler “to go”, from Latin ambulare; → AMBLE 