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.

---

playa British  

/ ˈplɑːjə, ˈplaja /

noun

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

---

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

---

Etymology

Origin of playa

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

playa

The dust doesn’t come only from the Salton Sea playa.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026

On the playa, attendees often wear masks and costumes.

From Salon ● Oct. 27, 2025

Researchers have linked the dust that blows off the playa to the region’s abnormally high rates of childhood asthma.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 16, 2024

The playa lost about a third of its salt volume over the past six decades.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 21, 2024

In my mind, I heard Big Boi sing: I’m just a playa like that, my jeans was sharply creased.

From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates