prairie

noun

prai·​rie ˈprer-ē 

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

• campo
• champaign
• down(s)
• grassland
• heath
• lea
• ley
• llano
• moor
• pampa
• plain
• savanna
• savannah
• steppe
• tundra
• veld
• veldt

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

That’s a Conestoga wagon woefully outfitted with sails to ostensibly use the wind to streak westward across the prairie. —Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 15 May 2024

Outside the city, Dietrich said, cicadas won’t be in areas dominated by prairie or row crops but rather along rivers and other locations with natural, mature forests. —Adriana Pérez, Chicago Tribune, 3 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

French, from Old French praierie, from Vulgar Latin *prataria, from Latin pratum meadow

First Known Use

circa 1682, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing prairie

• prairie chicken
• prairie dog
• prairie schooner
• prairie soil
• prairie wolf
• short-grass prairie
• tallgrass prairie

Kids Definition

prairie

noun

prai·​rie ˈpre(ə)r-ē 

: a large area of level or rolling grassland