Savannah
Americannoun
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a seaport in E Georgia, near the mouth of the Savannah River.
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a river flowing SE from E Georgia along most of the boundary between Georgia and South Carolina and into the Atlantic. 314 miles (505 km) long.
noun
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a port in the US, in E Georgia, near the mouth of the Savannah River: port of departure of the Savannah for Liverpool (1819), the first steamship to cross the Atlantic. Pop: 127 573 (2003 est)
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a river in the southeastern US, formed by the confluence of the Tugaloo and Seneca Rivers in NW South Carolina: flows southeast to the Atlantic. Length: 505 km (314 miles)
Explanation
An ecosystem made up of a mix of grassland and wooded areas is called a savannah. The African savannah is home to elephants, zebras, lions, and many other animals. A savannah is different from a forest because the widely spaced trees allow plenty of sunlight to filter through, resulting in dense grasses. Most savannahs are located in tropical areas, but even North America has its share — and before the 19th century, areas of land kept clear by controlled fires were also described as savannahs. Although the word means "treeless plain" in Spanish, a true savannah does have trees as well as grasses.
Vocabulary lists containing savannah
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
United States women's national team player Savannah DeMelo is suing a hospital and two doctors after she suffered a heart attack on the pitch last year.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Savannah Jones, 20, from Cardiff, who works in childcare, passed her driving test in June.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Savannah Guthrie continued her calls for kidnappers to return her mother Nancy Guthrie, as the investigation into the elder Guthrie’s disappearance surpasses its six-month mark.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
In 1764, an English sailor named Samuel Bowen arrived in Savannah, Georgia, with a handful of soybeans, a souvenir from several years spent in China.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
Savannah, Gib, Frank and Lindy were texting like someone’s life depended on it.
From "Lawn Boy Returns" by Gary Paulsen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
