Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

puna

American  
[poo-nah] / ˈpu nɑ /

noun

  1. a high, cold, arid plateau, as in the Peruvian Andes.

  2. Pathology. altitude sickness.


puna British  
/ ˈpuna /

noun

  1. a high cold dry plateau, esp in the Andes

  2. another name for mountain sickness

"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

Etymology

Origin of puna

First recorded in 1605–15; from South American Spanish, from Quechua púna

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Step 1: Deep wells or puna are cleaned of dirt and debris so the sea water that enters them through underground channels is clean and conducive to salt making.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 3, 2024

On the puna, the more-than-two-mile-high sierra, the saffron moss took a little spring rain and greened.

From Time Magazine Archive

Some say "all the waters here have puna;" others that "where there is snow there is puna;" — and this no doubt is true.

From The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin

Isang balong malalim puna ng patalím, A deep well filled with steel blades.—The mouth.

From Lineage, Life and Labors of José Rizal, Philippine Patriot by James Alexander Robertson

The short breathing from the rarefied atmosphere is called by the Chilenos "puna;" and they have most ridiculous notions concerning its origin.

From The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 14,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training