steppes

noun

plural of steppe
as in plains
a broad area of level or rolling treeless country nomads have long grazed yaks on the steppes of Mongolia

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 steppes Historical legacy is not destiny, and Russia’s excesses cannot be blamed solely on its ties to the political culture of the steppes. — Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026 The unification of the Eurasian steppes under Genghis Khan and his successors—Ögödei, Möngke, and Kublai Khan—brought many of these trade routes under a single political authority for the first time. — Ethan Teekah, Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Aug. 2026 Similar trends have played out in Central Asian steppes and South American plains. — Tristan Bove, Fortune, 1 June 2026 Longer-running hiking trips take you everywhere from Western Greenland to the sea cliffs of the Faroe Islands, the steppes of Mongolia, or the Tien Shan Mountains of Kyrgyzstan. — The Editors, Outside, 18 Mar. 2026 Folktales are filled with people fighting to survive in forests, steppes, and deserts, and evading and outwitting the wild beasts that dwell within them. — Literary Hub, 18 Feb. 2026 Even today, its influence stretches from the steppes of Kazakhstan to the far reaches of low Earth orbit. — Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 15 Feb. 2026 Rather than having to find their own sales channels, participating farmers working off tiny plots on mountain steppes can sell their corn to the company at a set price for unified processing, before the corn is sold online and to major distributors. — Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 11 Feb. 2026 All 40 rooms in the low-lying, two-story building look onto the park’s iconic towers, with large windows to catch Patagonia’s expansive steppes and skies. — Sarah Marshall, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for steppes
  1. plains
  2. prairies
  3. grasslands
  4. savannas
Noun
  • Tycho Crater is visible in the lower region of the lunar disk close to the shadow, while bright ejecta rays of reflective material brighten the darker lunar seas, where lava solidified to form basaltic plains billions of years ago.
    — Anthony Wood, Space.com, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Away from both sides of the road stretched rocky plains, dry and gray as parchment.
    — Leslie E. Tassell, Outdoor Life, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of plains
Noun
  • Native to the shortgrass prairies of the Great Plains, it’s suited to poor, gravelly soils.
    — Beth Botts, Chicago Tribune, 23 Aug. 2026
  • The route passes through diverse landscapes, including forests, prairies, lakes, and the Rocky Mountains, with stops in cities like Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton, and Jasper.
    — Maryam Siddiqi, Travel + Leisure, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of prairies
Noun
  • The urban-wildland interface — where human development intermingles with wild places such as scrublands, grasslands and forests — is the fastest-growing land-use type in the United States.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Swim, canoe, geocache, and bird-watch among Bastrop State Park’s mosaic of pines, oaks, shrubs, and grasslands, which are punctuated by a carpet of bluebonnets each spring.
    — Allison Tibaldi, USA Today, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of grasslands
Noun
  • 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
  • The new property is nestled inside a 45,000-acre private conservancy with open savannahs and waterholes nearby.
    — Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 8 July 2026
Definition of savannas

Browse Nearby Words

stepped up
steppes
stepping
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Cite this Entry

“Steppes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/steppes. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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