steppe

noun \ ˈstep \

Definition of steppe

1 : one of the vast usually level and treeless tracts in southeastern Europe or Asia

2 : arid land with xerophilous vegetation found usually in regions of extreme temperature range and loess soil

See steppe defined for English-language learners

See steppe defined for kids

Examples of steppe in a Sentence

nomads have long grazed yaks on the steppes of Mongolia

Recent Examples of steppe from the Web

Before bureaucrats started to relocate in droves, Astana was a crumbling outpost in the middle of the windswept steppe, swarming with mosquitoes in the summer and a tormenting 20 degrees below zero for much of the winter.

— david segal, New York Times, "Can a Giant Science Fair Transform Kazakhstan’s Economy?," 9 Sep. 2017
Mr Gorbachev was born in the village of Privolnoye, in Russia’s southern steppe, in 1931, a breaking-point in Russian history with more drastic consequences, in many ways, than those of the revolution of 1917.

— The Economist, "How Mikhail Gorbachev ended the cold war," 31 Aug. 2017
But deep down this was a scrap about whether ranchers and miners whose great-grandfathers toiled to tame the sagebrush steppes are trustworthy stewards of the land.

— The Economist, "Our columnist bids farewell," 7 Sep. 2017
Fringed variously by steppe and mountain, the shore has been home to nomadic hordes and long-distance traders, blood-drinking Scythians and gold-seeking Greeks, Khazars, Mongols, Turks and Russian Cossacks.

— WSJ, "Five Best: Catherine Merridale," 4 Aug. 2017
The Siberian plains, or steppes, are these vast tracts of land made up of permafrost, [which have lost a lot of their animal populations].

— jonathan blair, National Geographic, "We Could Resurrect the Woolly Mammoth. Here's How.," 9 July 2017
The ecosystem makes a full sweep from alpine wetlands through grasslands and steppes to alpine meadows and snowy mountains and glaciers.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "Three Incredible Natural Areas Nominated for the World Heritage List," 1 June 2017
The seafloor grooves, the researchers believe, were made during a similar era to the Texas coral steppes (the close of the last ice age), and signal a very rapid retreat of Pine Island over roughly a thousand years.

— the washington post, NOLA.com, "Oceans may rise higher and faster, thanks to climate change, new studies find," 26 Oct. 2017
Her landing on a steppe of Kazakhstan closes out a chapter in Whitson's storied space career.

— claire zillman, Fortune, "Vladimir Putin’s Challenger, John Lewis Bans Gendered Labels for Kids, and Celine Dion Hawks Handbags," 4 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'steppe.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of steppe

Russian step'

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1671

See Words from the same year

steppe Synonyms

Synonyms

champaign, down(s), grassland, heath, lea (or ley), llano, moor, pampa, plain, prairie, savanna (also savannah), tundra, veld (or veldt);

Related Words

field, meadow;

floodplain;

bottom, bottomland, flat, lowland;

plateau, table, tableland, upland;

Other Geology Terms

anthracite, boulder, cwm, erratic, igneous, intrusive, mesa, sedimentary, silt, swale

STEPPE Defined for English Language Learners

steppe

noun

Definition of steppe for English Language Learners

: a large, flat area of land with grass and very few trees especially in eastern Europe and Asia

STEPPE Defined for Kids

steppe

noun \ ˈstep \

Definition of steppe for Students

: land that is dry, rather level, mostly treeless, and covered with grass in regions (as parts of Asia and southeastern Europe) with usually hot summers and cold winters