vegetation

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

Updated on: 19 Apr 2018

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

Supporters argued that too many deer are destroying forest vegetation in town.

— johanna seltz, BostonGlobe.com, "Town allows bow-hunting starting this fall," 13 Apr. 2018
The zones are strips of land where combustible vegetation has been removed or modified.

— bradley zint, latimes.com, "Parking in Laguna Beach? The fine for some tickets is going up by $20," 11 Apr. 2018
The lake is naturally dark, stained like tea by decomposing vegetation in adjoining wetlands.

— kevin spear, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Rare Florida jewel, Blue Cypress Lake, sickens with pollution," 11 Apr. 2018
There is little vegetation to hold the snow in valleys recently scoured by ice, and snow slides are common, especially toward spring.

— john schandelmeier, Anchorage Daily News, "Alaska’s ice fields and ice caves are worth exploring — but do so cautiously," 27 Mar. 2018
Without vegetation to hold back the soil, even a little bit of rain on the hills can have huge consequences.

— megan molteni, WIRED, "See Everything Bad About Climate Change in a Single California Town," 23 Mar. 2018
There’s just enough new vegetation to entice the horses at the California Equine Retirement Foundation (CERF) but not enough to provide a meal.

— nicole miller-coleman, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Foundation seeks happy endings, one horse at a time," 22 Mar. 2018
The bill reduces the cost of trimming vegetation near power lines by lowering the minimum amount of insurance utilities must carry.

— kale williams, OregonLive.com, "Oregon senators help secure wildfire funding 'fix' in federal spending package," 21 Mar. 2018
Green also is the color of a shamrock, a symbol of Ireland -- known as the Emerald Isle because of its lush vegetation.

— janelle davis, john coughlin and natalie yubas, CNN, "Things that turn green on St. Patrick's Day," 16 Mar. 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