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
  • The French electronic music duo have been perennial performers in the desert since their Coachella debut in 2007 and also have collaborated with Kevin Parker of headliner Tame Impala.
    — Vanessa Franko, Los Angeles Times, 11 Nov. 2026
  • This plan has faced bipartisan backlash for its involvement of Big Bend National Park, a cherished area known for its stunning canyons and pristine desert landscape.
    — Brittney Melton, NPR, 10 Nov. 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
  • Conversely, when those same seeds are planted outdoors, natural sunlight, open air, and competing soil microbes naturally neutralize the bacteria long before the plant reaches your dinner plate.
    — SJ McShane, Martha Stewart, 1 Nov. 2026
  • The couple spent significant time touring open air markets in Italy, which, Caruso said, were loaded with seafood and fresh produce.
    — Susan DeGrane, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of open air
Noun
  • The Magic 9, the successor to the Magic 8 Pro, looks like a triple-eyed, moss-green robo-creature designed to blend in with an overgrown, post-apocalyptic wasteland.
    — Kimberly Gedeon, PC Magazine, 5 Nov. 2026
  • That year, the United Kingdom tipped into recession, and Marylebone High Street became a retail wasteland.
    — Nathan Heller, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of wasteland
Noun
  • After the reports surfaced, CDFW admitted that its officers shot the coyote but lost track of it in the wilderness.
    — Hunter Sowards, CBS News, 11 Nov. 2026
  • The 2027 event combines over six minutes of totality with some of the very best weather prospects possible, while 2028 offers over five minutes of totality above some of the world's most famous wildernesses and cityscapes.
    — Jamie Carter, Space.com, 10 Nov. 2026
Definition of wilderness
Noun
  • The result is a movie of dazzling conundrums and vertiginous paradoxes, leading Fielder ever deeper into emotional and intellectual wilds.
    — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Remember, this is an old-school program operating in a wild-west, NIL, transfer-portal landscape.
    — Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 9 Oct. 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 Nov. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on dust bowl

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about dust bowl

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