alley

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A narrow street or passageway between or behind city buildings.
2. n. A path between flower beds or trees in a garden or park.
3. n. Sports A straight narrow course or track, especially a bowling alley.
4. n. Sports Either of the parallel lanes at the sides of a tennis court, which widen the inbounds area for doubles play.
5. idiom. up (one's) alley Informal Compatible with one's interests or qualifications: an assignment that is right up your alley.
6. n. Games A large playing marble, often used as the shooter.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A passage; especially, a narrow passage. A passage in a building, giving access from one part to another; also sometimes used for aisle. A long, narrow inclosure with a smooth wooden floor for playing at bowls, skittles, etc. A walk, inclosed with hedges or shrubbery, in a garden: as, “yonder alleys green,” Milton, P. L., iv. 626.
2. n. A narrow passage or way in a town, as distinct from a public street. In a printing-office, the space between two rows of composing-stands, in which compositors work at the cases on the stands.
3. n. A choice taw or large playing-marble. Also spelled ally.

Wiktionary

1. n. A glass marble or taw.
2. n. A narrow street or passageway, especially one through the middle of a block giving access to the rear of lots or buildings.
3. n. baseball The area between the outfielders, the gap.
4. n. bowling An establishment where bowling is played; bowling alley.
5. n. tennis The extra area between the sidelines or tramlines on a tennis court that is used for doubles matches.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. A narrow passage; especially a walk or passage in a garden or park, bordered by rows of trees or bushes; a bordered way.
2. n. A narrow passage or way in a city, as distinct from a public street.
3. n. A passageway between rows of pews in a church.
4. n. (Persp.) Any passage having the entrance represented as wider than the exit, so as to give the appearance of length.
5. n. The space between two rows of compositors' stands in a printing office.
6. n. A choice taw or marble.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a lane down which a bowling ball is rolled toward pins
2. n. a narrow street with walls on both sides