floodplain

noun

flood·​plain ˈfləd-ˌplān 

1

: level land that may be submerged by floodwaters

2

: a plain built up by stream deposition

Examples of floodplain in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The closest creek is 75 yards away, and the church wasn’t considered to be in the 100-year floodplain, but that changed after Helene, officials said. —Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 15 Jan. 2026

But Suen encourages residents in flood-prone areas to still have an emergency preparedness kit ready, along with knowing their flood risk and looking at FEMA floodplain maps for their families. —Charlie Lapastora, CBS News, 6 Jan. 2026

The team installed beaver-style dams across the Cache la Poudre and Willow Creek watersheds — both burned in the 2020 wildfires — to help slow water flow and instead spread the water over a floodplain. —Elise Schmelzer, Denver Post, 30 Dec. 2025

Roads, railways, factories and ports expanded into floodplains. —Farshid Vahedifard, The Conversation, 29 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1873, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for floodplain

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

Kids Definition

floodplain

noun

flood·​plain -ˌplān 

1

: low flat land along a stream or river that may flood

2

: a plain built up from earth left by floodwaters