savanna

American  

[suh-van-uh] / səˈvæn ə /

Or savannah

noun

1. a plain characterized by coarse grasses and scattered tree growth, especially on the margins of the tropics where the rainfall is seasonal, as in eastern Africa.

2. grassland region with scattered trees, grading into either open plain or woodland, usually in subtropical or tropical regions.

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savanna British  

/ səˈvænə /

noun

1. open grasslands, usually with scattered bushes or trees, characteristic of much of tropical Africa

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savanna Scientific  

/ sə-văn′ə /

1. A flat, grass-covered area of tropical or subtropical regions, nearly treeless in some places but generally having a mix of widely spaced trees and bushes. Savannas have distinct wet and dry seasons, with the mix of vegetation dependent primarily on the relative length of the two seasons.

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savanna Cultural  

1. A tropical land mass of grassland and scattered trees.

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Etymology

Origin of savanna

First recorded in 1545–55; earlier zavana, from Spanish (now sabana ), from Taíno zabana

Explanation

A savanna is a grassy, usually tropical area of land. You're more likely to find a savanna in Tanzania than in Savannah, Georgia. You can spell this word savanna or savannah — either way, you're talking about a particular kind of ecosystem that's mostly covered with grass and sparsely placed trees. While most savannas are in tropical or subtropical parts of the world, there are also temperate savannas (including in the Great Plains of the U.S.) and mediterranean savannas, such as California's oak tree savannas. In Spanish, savanna means "treeless plain."

Example Sentences

The hardest-hit biome last year was once again the Cerrado, a vast, biodiverse savanna south of the Amazon.

From Barron's • May 27, 2026

Fossil pollen and remains of grass-eating animals such as hippos indicate that savanna plants dominated the region tens of thousands of years ago, rather than dense forests.

From Science Daily • Feb. 1, 2026

Prof Hansen described the new results as "frightening", and warned of the possible "savannisation" of the rainforest, where old-growth tropical forests die back and permanently switch to savanna.

From BBC • May 21, 2025

A recent study suggested that if deforestation and climate change continue unabated, between 10% and 47% of the Amazon could transition from lush rainforest to arid savanna over the next 25 years.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 20, 2024

As far as the eye could see, the great savanna rolled, brown, gold, buff-green, shimmering toward the horizon, and empty.

From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman

Related Words

• grassland