prairie

American  

[prair-ee] / ˈprɛər i /

noun

• prairies
  plural

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.

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prairie British  

/ ˈprɛərɪ /

noun

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

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prairie Scientific  

/ prâr′ē /

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• prairielike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• prairies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of prairie

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

Explanation

A prairie is a plain of grassy land without many trees. If you're raising cattle, find some prairie land to let them roam around on. Prairie means grassland, and comes from the French word for "meadow." While we might describe a single meadow, we usually use prairie to describe a type of countryside. In the United States, the natural state of the land between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains is prairie, which is why there's so much farming there.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

prairie prairies

With a population of about 2,400, it could pass for any number of prairie towns: modest houses and churches, mostly boarded-up storefronts, and a grain elevator towering above everything.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

Muñoz’s program was bookended by dance scores — Ginastera’s “Four Dances from ‘Estancia’” and Copland’s ballet, “Billy the Kid” — that evoke the prairie and the people in it in both viscerally and spiritually.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026

Laura Parker, a lawyer for the center, said it can be hard for people to understand why a tiny lizard, or rare mussel species, or the lesser prairie chicken are worth preserving.

From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026

These readers say the draw isn’t just the vivid prairie setting—it’s the story of female relatives navigating hardship together.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

When I’d pounded in the last nail and gathered up my tools, I fairly floated across the blooming prairie.

From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson

Planted in April, they look vigorous despite no automatic irrigation, as do other flowers such as daisy-like echinaceas from US prairies.

From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026

The marine ecosystem and its habitats - wetland, seagrass beds and marine prairies - support a range of wildlife.

From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026

Refinery issues in the Great Lakes and the prairies of Canada fed into significant price increases for those two areas, including the states of Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois and Wisconsin.

From MarketWatch ● May 1, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2025

The great quiet of the prairies surrounded him.

From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote

Related Words

• meadow
• pasture
• plain
• savanna
• steppe