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

Example Sentences

Capybaras aren’t native to Mexico; they are South American, occupying savannas and vegetated areas.

From The Wall Street Journal

The centerpiece of the 13-acre-plus parkland is a curved bridge overlooking a savanna, allowing elephants to walk under guests.

From Los Angeles Times

Ancient stories, poems, and songs may hold clues to how vast savannas and grasslands formed and endured across the region.

From Science Daily

The scale of the increase varied across the four different biomes surveyed, with the sharpest rise in tropical savannas.

From Barron's

The area sits at a unique ecological crossroads where the Amazon forest meets the Llanos de Moxos savannas.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• grassland