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.
Guthrie, the mother of US news presenter Savannah Guthrie, was 84 when she went missing from her Arizona home in January.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026
Savannah, who lost her father to a heart attack when she was 16, posted a video that night and acknowledged reports of a ransom note.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
The chilling images were viewed more than 17 million times on X. Savannah shared the images on social media.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
“How can someone vanish without a trace,” Savannah asked herself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
She was no longer in college, having dropped out during her third semester because of morning sickness, two Ds, and one F. Lily, she thought, would be simpler than Savannah.
From "Where Things Come Back" by John Corey Whaley
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.
