playa

1 of 2

noun (1)

pla·​ya ˈplī-ə 

: the flat-floored bottom of an undrained desert basin that becomes at times a shallow lake

playa

2 of 2

noun (2)

variant spelling of player sense f

Examples of playa in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The company flew three illuminated art blimps over the playa at Burning Man in 2025, with no advertising on them. — Boaz Sobrado, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026

In 2023, torrential rain turned the playa into thick mud, leaving many Burners, including Christian, stranded in the desert. — Kalia Richardson, USA Today, 24 July 2026

The dust doesn’t come only from the Salton Sea playa. — Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2026

Spring and fall offer bearable temps—prime time for gravel biking, off-roading, land sailing, hot-spring soaking, or astrophotography on the playa’s flat, hard surface. — Ted Alvarez, Outside, 9 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Spanish, literally, beach, from Late Latin plagia — more at plage

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1854, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for playa

• gaia
• maia
• maya
• via
• hezekiah
• jeremiah
• nehemiah
• obadiah
• zechariah
• messiah
• nyaya
• papaya