often attributive
1
: land in or predominantly in grass
2
: a tract of grassland: such as
a
: a large area of level or rolling land in the Mississippi River valley that in its natural uncultivated state usually has deep fertile soil, a cover of tall coarse grasses, and few trees
b
: one of the dry treeless plateaus east of the Rocky Mountains that merge on their east side with the prairies proper and are characterized by shorter grasses and drier less fertile soil
Examples of prairie in a Sentence
Millions of buffalo once roamed the prairies.
The train tracks extend over miles of prairie.
Recent Examples on the Web
Timm’s garden is a milkweed buffet with seven different kinds planted throughout, like swamp, ice ballet, cinderella, prairie, poke, common and butterfly milkweed.
—
Caitlin Looby, jsonline.com, 25 Sep. 2025
Five suspects are each facing a felony charge of firing woods or prairie and a federal charge of entering a forest closure.
—Robert Garrison, Denver Post, 23 Sep. 2025
In addition to its dramatic landscapes with layered rock formations, steep canyons, and towering spires, Badlands National Park protects an expanse of mixed-grass prairie among its 244,000 acres, where bison, bighorn sheep, prairie dogs, and black-footed ferrets live and roam.
—Dave Parfitt, USA Today, 23 Sep. 2025
Hailing from the prairies of North America, this salvia is an end-of-the-season stunner that produces tall spikes of sky-blue flowers in late summer.
—Sheryl Geerts, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for prairie
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Caitlin Looby, jsonline.com, 25 Sep. 2025
Five suspects are each facing a felony charge of firing woods or prairie and a federal charge of entering a forest closure.
—Robert Garrison, Denver Post, 23 Sep. 2025
In addition to its dramatic landscapes with layered rock formations, steep canyons, and towering spires, Badlands National Park protects an expanse of mixed-grass prairie among its 244,000 acres, where bison, bighorn sheep, prairie dogs, and black-footed ferrets live and roam.
—Dave Parfitt, USA Today, 23 Sep. 2025
Hailing from the prairies of North America, this salvia is an end-of-the-season stunner that produces tall spikes of sky-blue flowers in late summer.
—Sheryl Geerts, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for prairie
Cite this Entry
“Prairie.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prairie. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
prairie
noun
prai·rie
ˈpre(ə)r-ē 
: a large area of level or rolling grassland
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