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 Days are spent hiking and exploring formations that stretch for miles into the rocky steppes. — Luke Abrahams, Vogue, 27 Oct. 2026 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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for steppes
  1. plains
  2. prairies
  3. grasslands
  4. savannas
Noun
  • 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
Definition of plains
Noun
  • In the postwar decades, humans seized ecosystems at breakneck speed—forests were felled, prairies plowed, wetlands drained.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Arbor Hills has wooded paths, open prairies, and even a creek, presenting the whole package to any outdoorsman without ever leaving the confines of the city.
    — Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of prairies
Noun
  • Every facet of India’s topography, from lush grasslands filled with antelopes to gnarled forests with tigers and evil spirits lurking around every corner, is on full display.
    — Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Chiricahua is a combination of climates The new national park features varying environments, from a desert landscape and grasslands to deciduous forest and chaparral shrub land to coniferous forest habitats.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 21 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

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 3 Nov. 2026.

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