dust bowl

noun

Definition of dust bowlnext
as in desert

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of dust bowl Middle Grade authors are doing everything from talking dogs to neurodivergent narrators in verse to dragon flights to dust bowl family sagas to elite private schools and everything in between. — American Booksellers Association, USA TODAY, 19 Jan. 2025 As a result, much of Maui's west side became a dry dust bowl susceptible to wildfires. — John Wogan, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 July 2024 Well, that was because of all the people that came from the dust bowl out to California to work in the aeronautics industry. — New Atlas, 10 July 2024 Perhaps irony, like water for the swimming pool, is a resource that dries up seasonally in these parts, leaving only a dust bowl of surly resentment and some tatty deckchairs behind. — Jessica Kiang, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2023 See All Example Sentences for dust bowl
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dust bowl
  1. desert
  2. no-man's-land
  3. open air
  4. wasteland
  5. wilderness
  6. wild
Noun
  • Number 2, because the Permian lies in a desert where freshwater is precious.
    — Ian Dexter Palmer, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2026
  • When my wife and I were planning a quick summer getaway with our two teenage daughters, heading to the desert was an easy choice.
    — Mike Avila, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of desert
Noun
  • When this happens, their planet goes back and forth between being a searing, endless stretch of desert or frozen no-man's-land.
    — JP Mangalindan, Peoplemag, 29 Mar. 2024
  • Abandoned by King Hassan II for its association with the Rif mountain revolts after Moroccan independence, in 1956, Tangier became a dilapidated drive-through, a no-man's-land for another 50 years.
    — Stephanie Rafanelli, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Aug. 2023
Definition of no-man's-land
Noun
  • Colleen Rosales, strategic partnerships director at OpenAQ, a nonprofit that publishes open air quality data, says air quality indices are calculations rather than physical readings, and countries build their own to match their own health standards.
    — Christopher Elliott, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Half of the bar is open air, with an elevated area along the wall for lucky bar-goers looking for a perch to take in the wild scene.
    — USA TODAY NETWORK, USA Today, 29 July 2026
Definition of open air
Noun
  • When Etna’s close companion handler Jason is killed after four years in earth-scorching combat, Etna sets out to rediscover his coastal puppyhood home in an unnamed region (Yoon’s details suggest Korea) across a wasteland strewn with refugee camps.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2026
  • These devices seem to share a conviction, however vague or coded, that the present is a wasteland bereft of life and color.
    — Mitch Therieau, New Yorker, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of wasteland
Noun
  • His canine companion is Odin (played by a pooch named Uber), who rescues James after their crash and embarks on a journey of survival in the wilderness.
    — Jack Smart, PEOPLE, 6 Aug. 2026
  • By driving Etna’s drifting itinerary with the quest to return home, Yoon invokes the pastoral nostalgia that has characterized the canine tradition’s man-dog battles against the brutal wilderness.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of wilderness
Noun
  • Though The Next Pro hasn’t yet taken viewers out into the open wilds of Australia, Irwin doesn’t see his duties at DWTS and the Australia Zoo as mutually exclusive.
    — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 18 July 2026
  • Some of this may sound a little wild.
    — Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 31 May 2026
Definition of wild

Browse Nearby Words

dustbins
dust bowl
dust bowls
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Dust bowl.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dust%20bowl. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on dust bowl

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about dust bowl

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