playa

American  

[plahy-uh] / ˈplaɪ ə /

noun

1. Western U.S.  the sandy, salty, or mud-caked flat floor of a desert basin having interior drainage, usually occupied by a shallow lake during or after prolonged, heavy rains.

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playa British  

/ ˈplɑːjə, ˈplaja /

noun

1. (in the US) a temporary lake, or its dry often salty bed, in a desert basin

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playa Scientific  

/ plī′ə /

1. A dry lake bed at the bottom of a desert basin, sometimes temporarily covered with water. Playas have no vegetation and are among the flattest geographical features in the world.

2. Also called sink

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Etymology

Origin of playa

1850–55, < Spanish: shore < Late Latin plagia; plage

Example Sentences

The company in June announced it would be expanding its service area in Los Angeles to more than 120 square miles in the county, ferrying passengers in Playa del Rey, Ladera Hieghts, Echo Park, Silver Lake and across Sunset Boulevard.

From Los Angeles Times

The cameras surrounding the massive stage in Playa Vista start rolling.

From Los Angeles Times

To maintain its annual cadence, Activision rotates game development among several of its studios, including Playa Vista-based Treyarch, which co-developed “Black Ops 6” and “Black Ops 7” in parallel — the first time that two “Call of Duty: Black Ops” games came out in subsequent years.

From Los Angeles Times

Crockett and most of her classmates are aiming for fortunes of tens of millions—enough to secure their descendants, fund charitable projects and, in one student’s case, to buy vacation homes in New Orleans and Playa del Carmen.

From The Wall Street Journal

Darren Silcox, from Pontnewydd, Cwmbran, was on holiday with family at Galeon Playa Apartments in the resort of Costa Teguise last month.

From BBC