terrain

noun

ter·​rain tə-ˈrān 

 also  te-

1

a(1)

: a geographic area

(2)

: a piece of land : ground

b

: the physical features of a tract of land

2

: terrane sense 1

3

a

: a field of knowledge or interest

b

: environment, milieu

Synonyms

• area
• realm
• element
• field
• domain
• walk
• department
• sphere
• kingdom

Examples of terrain in a Sentence

We had to drive over some rough terrain.

We hiked through a variety of terrains.

Recent Examples on the Web

One to two inches are likely in the Turks and Caicos and northern Dominican Republic, with 2 to 4 inches possible in Puerto Rico and the northern Leeward Islands, potentially causing flash flooding and mudslides in higher terrain. —Joe Edwards, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Aug. 2025

The military vehicles, known for transporting troops across desert terrain in Iraq and Afghanistan, now squeezed through congested traffic alongside taxis and Ubers dropping off commuters and tourists. —Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA Today, 14 Aug. 2025

Pogacar will go in as favourite, having beaten Healy over similar terrain at Liege-Bastogne-Liege this year, but the smaller team sizes allowed this time could lend itself to the type of chaotic race in which Healy excels. —Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2025

In this new terrain, maintaining message integrity becomes exponentially more complex. —Daniel Lotzof, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

French, land, ground, from Old French terrein, from Vulgar Latin *terranum, alteration of Latin terrenum, from neuter of terrenus of earth — more at terrene

First Known Use

1766, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Phrases Containing terrain

• all-terrain vehicle

Rhymes for terrain

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

Kids Definition

terrain

noun

ter·​rain tə-ˈrān 

 also  te-

: the surface features of an area of land

rough terrain