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
Synonyms of prairie
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
The Longview Steakhouse Located on the eastern edge of Kananaskis, where the mountains flatten out, this eponymous steakhouse is known as much for its long prairie views as its tender cuts of beef.
—
Lisa Kadane, Travel + Leisure, 2 Nov. 2025
After the death of his addict father, Ethan heads back to see if there’s any money to be made from selling his home, intending to stay, only briefly, with his aunt Sarah, Metcalf’s character, a Brunhilde of the high prairie.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2025
McGuane, an athletic 85, lives on 2,000 acres of rolling prairie in the Boulder River Valley, 75 miles east of Bozeman.
—Tyler Austin Harper, The Atlantic, 30 Oct. 2025
Badlands, North Dakota North Dakota’s Badlands is known for its rugged landscape, including sweeping hills, prairie grasses, canyons and rock formations, as well as native wildlife.
—Angelica Stabile, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for prairie
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Lisa Kadane, Travel + Leisure, 2 Nov. 2025
After the death of his addict father, Ethan heads back to see if there’s any money to be made from selling his home, intending to stay, only briefly, with his aunt Sarah, Metcalf’s character, a Brunhilde of the high prairie.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2025
McGuane, an athletic 85, lives on 2,000 acres of rolling prairie in the Boulder River Valley, 75 miles east of Bozeman.
—Tyler Austin Harper, The Atlantic, 30 Oct. 2025
Badlands, North Dakota North Dakota’s Badlands is known for its rugged landscape, including sweeping hills, prairie grasses, canyons and rock formations, as well as native wildlife.
—Angelica Stabile, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 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 8 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
prairie
noun
prai·rie
ˈpre(ə)r-ē 
: a large area of level or rolling grassland
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share