vegetation

noun veg·e·ta·tion \ ˌve-jə-ˈtā-shən \

|Updated on: 13 Jun 2018

Examples: vegetation in a Sentence

Definition of vegetation

1 : plant life or total plant cover (as of an area)

2 : the act or process of vegetating

3 : inert existence

4 : an abnormal growth upon a body part

fibrin vegetations on the mitral valve

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vegetational

play \ˌve-jə-ˈtā-shnəl, -shə-nᵊl\ adjective

See vegetation defined for English-language learners

See vegetation defined for kids

Examples of vegetation in a Sentence

the dense vegetation of the jungle
the local vegetation is flourishing as a result of the recent rains

Recent Examples of vegetation from the Web

Yet its grounds along Lanvale Street are often overgrown with vegetation.

— jacques kelly, baltimoresun.com, "Jacques Kelly: Penn Station still a neighborhood showpiece, and potential powerhouse," 2 June 2018
Thankfully, fire crews avoided any stings while containing a small vegetation fire near 80 to 100 bee hives Saturday afternoon at Jackson and Grant Line roads near Sloughhouse.

— cassie dickman, sacbee, "Firefighters put out the flames and keep the bees at bay in small grass fire," 2 June 2018
The agency tweeted at 12:45 p.m. that homes were in the area of the vegetation fire on Deming Ranch Road, but none were threatened by the blaze.

— teri figueroa, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Crews battling 3-acre fire in North County," 1 June 2018
Outside, the front yard features a sand dune with natural vegetation to cover the large septic system.

— terri akman, Philly.com, "Old Bayview Motel in Strathmere transformed into family compound," 22 May 2018
Criteria for a Red Flag Warning include a relative humidity less than 25 percent, warm temperatures and high winds for several hours, combined with dry vegetation in the area.

— kimberly rapanut, azcentral, "Why fire danger is extremely high Monday in northern Arizona," 20 May 2018
Making matters worse were the still-smoldering remnants of the vegetation fire.

— city news service, Ramona Sentinel, "Deputies recover bodies of plane crash victims," 14 May 2018
By nature, rails seek out marshes with thick vegetation in which to hide.

— taylor piephoff, charlotteobserver, "Keep an eye out for birds in odd places as migrants arrive | Charlotte Observer," 20 Apr. 2018
The trade-off for uninterrupted views of the lake is privacy — sites are close together, with no vegetation to offer privacy.

— chelsey lewis, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "12 places to camp along water in Wisconsin," 12 Apr. 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of vegetation

borrowed from Medieval Latin vegetātiōn-, vegetātiō "power of growth," going back to Latin, "act of invigorating," from vegetāre "to impart energy to, invigorate" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal nouns — more at vegetate

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1564

in the meaning defined at sense 2

See Words from the same year

vegetation Synonyms

Synonyms

flora, foliage, green, greenery, herbage, leafage, verdure;

Related Words

grassland, prairie;

underbrush, undergrowth;

Other Botany Terms

annual, burgeon, chloroplast, nomenclature, succulent, sylvan, xylem

VEGETATION Defined for English Language Learners

vegetation

noun

Definition of vegetation for English Language Learners

: plants in general : plants that cover a particular area

VEGETATION Defined for Kids

vegetation

noun veg·e·ta·tion \ ˌve-jə-ˈtā-shən \

Definition of vegetation for Students

: plant life or cover (as of an area)

The valley was green with vegetation.

Medical Dictionary

vegetation

noun veg·e·ta·tion \ ˌvej-ə-ˈtā-shən \

medical Definition of vegetation

: an abnormal outgrowth upon a body part; specifically : any of the warty excrescences on the valves of the heart that are composed of various tissue elements including fibrin and collagen and that are typical of endocarditis