prairie

[ prair-ee ]

See synonyms for prairie on Thesaurus.com

noun

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.
a tract of grassland; meadow.

(in Florida) a low, sandy tract of grassland often covered with water.
Southern U.S. wet grassland; marsh.
(initial capital letter) a steam locomotive having a two-wheeled front truck, six driving wheels, and a two-wheeled rear truck.

Origin of prairie

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

Other words from prairie

prai·rie·like, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

British Dictionary definitions for prairie

prairie

/ (ˈprɛərɪ) /

noun

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

Origin of prairie

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for prairie

prairie

[ prâr′ē ]

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

Browse