prairie

[prair-ee]

noun

1. an extensive, level or slightly undulating, mostly treeless tract of land in the Mississippi valley, characterized by a highly fertile soil and originally covered with coarse grasses, and merging into drier plateaus in the west.

2. a tract of grassland; meadow.

3. (in Florida) a low, sandy tract of grassland often covered with water.

4. Southern U.S.,  wet grassland; marsh.

5. (initial capital letter),  a steam locomotive having a two-wheeled front truck, six driving wheels, and a two-wheeled rear truck.

prairie

/ ˈprɛərɪ /

noun

1. (often plural) a treeless grassy plain of the central US and S Canada Compare pampas steppe savanna

prairie

1. An extensive area of flat or rolling grassland, especially the large plain of central North America.

Other Word Forms

• prairielike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of prairie¹

1675–85; < French: meadow < Vulgar Latin *prātāria, equivalent to Latin prāt ( um ) meadow + -āria, feminine of -ārius -ary

Word History and Origins

Origin of prairie¹

C18: from French, from Old French praierie, from Latin prātum meadow

Example Sentences

“The Lowdown” travels through the streets and byways of Oklahoma prairie country in a way that celebrates its homey beauty, with scenes bathed in the golden light typically associated with L.A. noir.

Read more on Salon

He has observed them nesting on prairies in Canada, hearing their muffled honks.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The Florida Everglades are a unique environmental region comprising marshes, prairies, forests, mangroves and estuaries.

Read more on BBC

The uprooting of prairies across the Great Plains and the Dust Bowl could not have occurred without the massive settler movement triggered by the Homestead Act of 1862.

Read more on Salon

The tribe plans projects to create healthier stream habitats for fish, and to restore meadows and prairies.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• meadow 
• pasture 
• plain 
• savanna 
• steppe