grassland

American  

[gras-land, grahs-] / ˈgræsˌlænd, ˈgrɑs- /

noun

grasslands plural

1. an area, as a prairie, in which the natural vegetation consists largely of perennial grasses, characteristic of subhumid and semiarid climates.

2. land with grass growing on it, especially farmland used for grazing or pasture.

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grassland British  

/ ˈɡrɑːsˌlænd /

noun

1. land, such as a prairie, on which grass predominates

2. land reserved for natural grass pasture

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grassland Scientific  

/ grăs′lănd′ /

1. An area that is dominated by grass or grasslike vegetation. Moderately dry climatic conditions and seasonal disturbances, such as floods or fires, are generally conducive to the growth of grasses and prohibitive of that of trees and shrubs. Grasslands are found in tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions and typically occupy regions between forests and deserts.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• grasslands
  plural

Etymology

Origin of grassland

An Americanism dating back to 1675–85; grass + land

Explanation

A grassland is an ecosystem that's thickly covered in short plants. Grasslands are notable for being lush and green. An area of land that mostly grows grass is a grassland — although there are other plants typically mixed in among the grasses, like clover, flowers, and woody plants. In the U.S., tallgrass prairies once covered huge portions of the midwestern states and were an example of one type of grassland. Today, these ecosystems can still be found around the world in regions that receive significant rainfall.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

grassland grasslands

A spherical object similar to those discovered this weekend was also found in remote grassland in Namibia, southern Africa, in 2011.

From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026

"We found that the abundance of grassland birds was more than 70 percent lower at sites next to shelterbelts compared with open sites located about one kilometer away," said Hisano.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 22, 2026

At the same time, they substantially reduced both the abundance of grassland birds and the diversity of wetland species that depend on large, open areas.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 22, 2026

This allowed the Space4Nature team to develop a predictive model for grassland and lowland heathland habitats.

From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026

She stopped where she was, in the open grassland, with the wind lashing her face and the cloud-shadows racing past her and the tall grasses whipping her thighs, and watched the canopy of the grove.

From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman

"The dense forest disappears and becomes more open woodland, with more lakes and more grasslands."

From Science Daily ● Jul. 19, 2026

"It started with a few wildlife ponds, seeing what we can do for enhancing grasslands, and then it came to, 'Shall we reroute the river?',"

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026

At the same time, wild grasslands contain roughly ~40% of the world's arbuscular mycorrhizal biomass.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 15, 2026

Many of Brazil’s estimated 1.2 million capybaras have migrated from their natural habitats, forests and grasslands along rivers and lakes, to cities.

From Slate ● May 27, 2026

November 22, 1955—a cold, clear day in the dry grasslands two thousand miles southeast of Moscow.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

Related Words

• pasture
• plain
• prairie
• savanna
• steppe