prairie

[ prair-ee ]

noun

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. Compare pampas, savanna, steppe.
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.

prairie

/ ˈprɛərɪ /

noun

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

prairie

/ prâr′ē /

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

Other Words From

• prairie·like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of prairie¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of prairie¹

C18: from French, from Old French praierie, from Latin prātum meadow

Example Sentences

These underwater prairies also support near-shore and offshore fisheries, and protect coastlines as well as other marine habitats.

From Science News

The journey took them through Ohio to Illinois, across the prairie, then south toward the deserts.

From Nautilus

That has put prairies in danger, as people have plowed under many grasslands to grow crops.

From Science News For Students

There, prairies stretch from the area east of the Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi River.

From Science News For Students

Usually, when scientists talk about prairies, they are referring to the grasslands in North America.

From Science News For Students

He stands, one assumes on a porch, which overlooks a prairie.

From The Daily Beast

One year later and 10 blocks away, my mother came into the world, the granddaughter of those pioneers who had roamed the prairie.

From The Daily Beast

There, abandoned “ghost towns” populate the prairie fields and deserts, serving as a reminder of a not-so-distant past.

From The Daily Beast

Harvey now lives in the central prairie province of Saskatchewan, Canadian news reports say, along with her husband and son.

From The Daily Beast

Because there is always this about the land, about prairie and pond and mountain: they never go away.

From The Daily Beast

This, thought I, is a dismal-looking outcome—two men and a dead horse left high and dry on the sun-flooded prairie.

From Project Gutenberg

Not while I had the open prairie underfoot and the summer sky above, and hands to strike a blow or pull a trigger.

From Project Gutenberg

"We'll be blamed lucky if we don't run into a prairie-fire before mornin'," Piegan grumbled.

From Project Gutenberg

One company also has irrigation works, and ready-made farms for settlers in the prairie provinces.

From Project Gutenberg

The sergeant went out, and when the beat of hoofs sank into the silence of the prairie, Winston called Courthorne in.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• meadow
• pasture
• plain
• savanna
• steppe