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 of terrain

• 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

While speeds top out around 150 Mbps and promotional pricing increases after the first three months, Viasat remains a practical fallback for remote homes that need consistent coverage regardless of terrain or infrastructure. —Roxanne Downer, USA Today, 21 Nov. 2025

The Crater Concept, said to take inspiration for its green-gold matte exterior color from California’s coastal terrain, rolled onto the stage at the Los Angeles Convention Center in front of a sizable crowd of journalists and others. —Eric D. Lawrence, Freep.com, 21 Nov. 2025

This is terrain Moscow would otherwise have to bitterly fight for over the next year. —Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 21 Nov. 2025

Customers agree that the bag glides smoothly, even holding up over cobblestones and other rough terrain. —Izzy Baskette, PEOPLE, 21 Nov. 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