Meanings
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1
noun
a small recessed area opening from a larger room or other interior space
The reading desk stood in an alcove beside the window.
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2
noun
a sheltered or partly enclosed outdoor nook or retreat
Curved whale ribs formed an entrance to the garden alcove.
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3
noun
geology: a steep-sided hollow or recess in a cliff or exposed rock face, often formed by erosion
Running water carved a broad alcove into the sandstone cliff.
Thesaurus
Etymology
Borrowed from French alcove, from Spanish alcoba or Portuguese alcova, ultimately from Arabic al-qubba, meaning the vault or the vaulted chamber. The indoor recess sense broadened to sheltered outdoor and geological hollows.