1. a low-lying or depressed and often wet stretch of land
2. a marshy depression between ridges

Examples

• The cattle gathered in the swale to drink from the standing water.
• After the heavy rains, the swale filled with runoff from the surrounding hills.
• The golf course designer incorporated the natural swale into the layout of the fairway.
• Wildflowers bloomed abundantly in the moist swale between the two ridges.
• The farmer avoided planting crops in the swale because it stayed too wet.
• Birds often nested in the tall grasses that grew in the protected swale.