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 of prairie

• steppe
• plain
• grassland
• savanna
• pampa
• meadow
• veld

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

In place of herds of bison thundering across the prairie, there were piles of bones a story high and as much as a hundred feet long. — Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026

On her 43 acres of woods and reclaimed native prairie in rural Tazewell County, Katie VandenBerg walked the edge of her property, inspecting a line of oaks bordered by miles of corn and soybean fields. — Christiana Freitag, Chicago Tribune, 16 Aug. 2026

The route passes through diverse landscapes, including forests, prairies, lakes, and the Rocky Mountains, with stops in cities like Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton, and Jasper. — Maryam Siddiqi, Travel + Leisure, 14 Aug. 2026

Covering 3,652 acres along the Wabash River, the Wabashiki Fish and Wildlife Area stretches across prairies, bottomland forests, and wetlands restored from farmland in 2010. — Brian Garrido, Midwest Living, 13 Aug. 2026

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

Rhymes for prairie

• accessary
• adversary
• ancillary
• apiary
• arbitrary
• aviary
• axillary
• bacillary
• beriberi
• bestiary
• breviary
• budgetary

Kids Definition

prairie

noun

prai·​rie ˈpre(ə)r-ē 

: a large area of level or rolling grassland