vegetation

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

|Updated on: 8 Aug 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

—

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

The cost depends on access to water and the type of vegetation, among other factors.

— molly sullivan, sacbee, "Flood risk? These goats have got it under control, county says | The Sacramento Bee," 26 May 2018
Woods took a drop in the vegetation, chipped out and took two putts to make a double bogey six.

— tim layden, SI.com, "Tiger Woods Was Right: He Might Not Be Ready to Win Another Masters Yet," 6 Apr. 2018
Crayfish in turn eat almost anything: rotting vegetation, fresh leaves and scraps typically found in the Everglades’ low-nutrient environment.

— jenny staletovich, miamiherald, "Record rain led to bonanza year for Florida’s wading birds. Just not in the right places | Miami Herald," 29 Mar. 2018
On the Yoga Gardens website, there’s a rendering: three geodesic domes and 11 yurts, surrounded by native vegetation, vegetable gardens and fruit trees.

— heidi stevens, chicagotribune.com, "How a yoga garden nourishes the soul of a West Side block," 5 July 2018
Fueled by high temperatures, low humidity and dry vegetation, the County fire is burning in the rugged hills and canyons west of Sacramento near Lake Berryessa.

— joseph serna, latimes.com, "Yolo County wildfire grows to 70,000 acres as more residents prepare to evacuate," 3 July 2018
Wallace's body, hidden by vegetation south of Rock Creek Lane, wasn't discovered until 12:55 a.m. on Saturday, CHP said.

— jordan cutler-tietjen, sacbee, "Motorcyclist's body found in Nevada City after traveling off steep embankment," 1 July 2018
Nets had to be generously and carefully garnished with local vegetation, which swiftly wilted in bad weather.

— mary horlock, Longreads, "The Camouflage Artist: Two Worlds Wars, Two Loves, and One Great Deception," 21 June 2018
The findings challenge a common argument floated among doubters of accepted climate science—that rising CO2 concentrations are a net positive for global vegetation, including crops.

— chelsea harvey, Scientific American, "As CO2 Levels Rise, Rice Becomes Less Nutritious," 24 May 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