terrain

noun

ter·​rain tə-ˈrān 

 also  te-

1

a(1)

: a geographic area

(2)

: a piece of land : ground

b

: the physical features of a tract of land

2

: terrane sense 1

3

a

: a field of knowledge or interest

b

: environment, milieu

Synonyms

• area
• realm
• element
• field
• domain
• walk
• department
• sphere
• kingdom

Examples of terrain in a Sentence

We had to drive over some rough terrain.

We hiked through a variety of terrains.

Recent Examples on the Web

Beyond the crater rim, there is this area called Nili Planum, a flat terrain that contains a lot of volcanic minerals, says Valantinas. —Bruce Dorminey, Forbes.com, 10 July 2025

There's topographical maps that are digitized that can be used to identify and characterize the terrain. —Michel Martin, NPR, 9 July 2025

The aircraft had managed to pick up two SAR volunteers, the department said, but was unable to breach the dense cloud cover to access the high-altitude terrain. —Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 9 July 2025

Morrison said law enforcement has faced environmental challenges while hunting the fugitive, highlighting not only rugged terrain, but harsh conditions teams have battled. —Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 9 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

French, land, ground, from Old French terrein, from Vulgar Latin *terranum, alteration of Latin terrenum, from neuter of terrenus of earth — more at terrene

First Known Use

1766, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Phrases Containing terrain

• all-terrain vehicle

Rhymes for terrain

• abstain
• airplane
• alkane
• arcane
• arraign
• attain
• backplane
• betaine
• biplane
• blockchain
• butane
• campaign

Kids Definition

terrain

noun

ter·​rain tə-ˈrān 

 also  te-

: the surface features of an area of land

rough terrain