Thesaurus results for PLAINS

plains

noun

Definition of plains

plural of plain

as in prairies

a broad area of level or rolling treeless country the first settlers in that area lived on the vast plains in lonely log cabins

Synonyms & Similar Words

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as in expanses

a wide space or area the vast plains of snow-covered earth that seemed to stretch endlessly

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 plains Behind the storm, colder overnight temperatures could bring the first freeze of the season to much of Colorado's eastern plains. — Callie Zanandrie, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026 Block after block of hulking data centers – both new and under construction – rise up seemingly out of nowhere from rolling plains and fields of sunflowers and sorghum. — Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 13 Oct. 2026 These arid plains dotted with date palms were once full of natural lakes and lush pastures on which local inhabitants roamed and grazed their livestock. — Taylor Luck, Christian Science Monitor, 7 Oct. 2026 Extreme to moderate heat warnings are in place for more than 34 million Californians, with temperatures forecast to reach between 92 and over 105 degrees, including along the coastal plains. — Megan Fahrney, ABC News, 2 Oct. 2026 The park is home to Kafue lechwe and puku that graze on the open plains, as well as elephants, buffalo, and lions. — Liz Wheeler, Travel + Leisure, 27 Sep. 2026 The plains were a far smoother ride, and both our joints and the Jeep’s suspension settled down to coast over kilometres of unbroken grassland. — Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026 Conversely, Florida beat up on Florida Atlantic to open the season, then scheduled an FCS beatdown as its tune-up before heading to the plains. — Noah White, Miami Herald, 17 Sep. 2026 This year they’ve been spotted on the plains more than an hour’s drive east of Colorado Springs. — Brittany Peterson, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for plains

Noun

Vintage finds, including an antique Swedish farm table, sit alongside custom bronze racks, while a swath of grass has been installed along the length of the shopfront window, nodding to the prairies of Wescoat Pound’s native Midwest.

— Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 9 Oct. 2026
Over his shoulder was an enormous portrait of the hatchet-wielding temperance crusader Carrie Nation, an icon of resistance to the excesses of the first Gilded Age, when similar discontent had roiled the prairies.

— Kyle Paoletta, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of prairies

Noun

Entrepreneur Emma Grede attributed her ability to keep brands relevant to her complete assuredness in her intuition, which was honed in the expanses of her triumphs—and failures.

— Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2026
Released three years after the similarly freewheeling Nekkuja, the album bubbles over with interdimensional ambition and zigzagging ideas, anchored by her ability to command bewildering expanses of melody and form.

— Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of expanses

Noun

Today, Astana’s skyline can keep up with the best of them, with 21st-century architectural marvels made from concrete, steel, and glass cresting over the country’s endless steppes into the horizon.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 Oct. 2026
The two tortoises on board were, appropriately, Russian steppes tortoises, NASA has said.

— Tariq Malik, Space.com, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of steppes

Noun

Crunchyroll announced several company expansions, including a brand new division and partnerships with PlayStation and manga publishers during the inaugural Anime Future Forum.

— Abbey White, HollywoodReporter, 9 Oct. 2026
Mamdani first announced the universal childcare parent survey in March, and top administration officials have said the data will continue to inform future expansions.

— Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of expansions

Noun

Filmed on the Mongolian grasslands, the film portrays the chaos of the early days of the Covid pandemic.

— Liz Shackleton, Deadline, 14 Oct. 2026
For millennia, the Great Steppe, a vast landscape of grasslands, deserts, and rolling fields that covers much of Kazakhstan, was home to roaming Turkic tribes, known by the 15th century as the Kazakh Khanate.

— Yulia Denisyuk, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of grasslands

Noun

El Niño threatens soy and corn harvests in the south while plunging savannahs and rainforests into drought and sparking wildfires.

— DAN RESTREPO, Foreign Affairs, 30 Sep. 2026
The center of the activities was a grove, within a ring of trees, considered to be one of the oldest oak savannas in the state.

— Gregory Harutunian, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of savannas

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“Plains.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plains. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of plains

noun

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