as in plains
a broad area of level or rolling treeless country
nomads have long grazed yaks on the steppes of Mongolia
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Recent Examples of steppes
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
Unlike Argentina’s open steppes, Chilean Patagonia hugs the Pacific coast and is carved by glacial valleys covered in with dense vegetation.
—Eric Sheets, Travel + Leisure, 5 Dec. 2025
The gene expression in the muscle tissue suggested a predominance of slow-twitch muscle fibers indicating the mammoth's muscles were built for stamina, ideal for long, steady travel across the cold, expansive steppes.
—Jay Kakade
december 03, New Atlas, 3 Dec. 2025
In Mongolia’s eastern steppes, an initiative implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is helping farmers revive more than 11,000 hectares of cropland through no-till farming and intercropping—restoring productivity while protecting ecosystems.
—Kaveh Zahedi, Time, 3 Nov. 2025
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
Unlike Argentina’s open steppes, Chilean Patagonia hugs the Pacific coast and is carved by glacial valleys covered in with dense vegetation.
—Eric Sheets, Travel + Leisure, 5 Dec. 2025
The gene expression in the muscle tissue suggested a predominance of slow-twitch muscle fibers indicating the mammoth's muscles were built for stamina, ideal for long, steady travel across the cold, expansive steppes.
—Jay Kakade
december 03, New Atlas, 3 Dec. 2025
In Mongolia’s eastern steppes, an initiative implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is helping farmers revive more than 11,000 hectares of cropland through no-till farming and intercropping—restoring productivity while protecting ecosystems.
—Kaveh Zahedi, Time, 3 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for steppes
Noun
-
White represents the frozen North, brown evokes the continents and plains of the South, green looks towards the West with its forest and jungles and blue symbolizes the Eastern horizon where the ocean and sky meet.—
Fairchild Studio,
Footwear News,
17 Apr. 2026
-
The border closure particularly affects cattle feedlots and ranchers who graze cattle in the southern plains.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
As a native to prairies, meadows, and open woods, this garden favorite cannot tolerate having 'wet feet' and requires the optimal drainage sandy soil provides.—
SJ McShane,
Martha Stewart,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Guitarist-banjoist Paul Lecours and singer-poet Karsyn Henderson formed Truck Violence after moving from the remote prairies of Alberta to the busy metropolis of Montreal as 17-year-olds.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
14 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
On March 12 the largest wildfire in Nebraska history ripped through 640,000 acres of grasslands, destroying homes, barns, ranches, and fences.—
Christine Peterson,
Outdoor Life,
15 Apr. 2026
-
High up on a ridge overlooking the rolling grasslands of northern Montana’s Great Plains, the vast ancestral land of the Blackfeet Nation sprawls before me.—
Karen Gardiner,
Condé Nast Traveler,
11 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Elephants are among the planet’s most majestic creatures, gentle giants who walk steadfastly through the savannas, forests and deserts of Africa and Asia.—
Catherine Garcia,
TheWeek,
2 Apr. 2026
-
No colonial power had ever controlled the swamps and savannas of the interior—an alien land of lagoons, glade marshes, prairies, and hardwood thickets.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Steppes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/steppes. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.
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