tundra

noun

tun·​dra ˈtən-drə 

also ˈtu̇n-

: a level or rolling treeless plain that is characteristic of arctic and subarctic regions, consists of black mucky soil with a permanently frozen subsoil, and has a dominant vegetation of mosses, lichens, herbs, and dwarf shrubs

also : a similar region confined to mountainous areas above timberline

Synonyms of tundra

• prairie
• steppe
• plain
• grassland
• savanna

Examples of tundra in a Sentence

a report on the arctic tundra of Alaska and the polar bears that inhabit that vast, frozen plain

Recent Examples on the Web

Hockey was a bruising, inelegant sport played in the frozen tundra of Canada and the upper Midwest when Vachon was traded from the Montreal Canadiens to the Kings in the winter of 1971. —Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2026

Waters are frozen early and often in the frozen tundra, which has made the Midwest somewhat of a hockey hotbed. —Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 8 Apr. 2026

Northern permafrost, including in the Alaskan tundra, locks roughly 1 trillion metric tons of carbon in its top three meters of soil — about 10 times the amount of carbon in the entire Amazon rainforest, above and below the surface. —Quanta Magazine, 6 Apr. 2026

The faces of Al Pacino and John Cazale are unmistakable — Pacino’s eyelashes, Cazale’s tundra of a forehead, their little-boyishness in close-up, the anxiety and melancholy in their eyes. —Sara Holdren, Vulture, 31 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Russian, from Russian dialect (northeast) tundra, tundara, from Kildin Sami (Sami language of the northern Kola Peninsula) tūnter

First Known Use

circa 1841, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing tundra

• tundra swan

Kids Definition

tundra

noun

tun·​dra ˈtən-drə 

also ˈtu̇n-

: a treeless plain especially of arctic regions having a permanently frozen layer below the surface soil and plant life made up mostly of mosses, lichens, herbs, and very small shrubs