savanna

or sa·van·nah

[ suh-van-uh ]

/ səˈvæn ə /

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See synonyms for: savanna / savannas on Thesaurus.com

noun

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.

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

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Origin of savanna

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

Words nearby savanna

Savage Island, savagery, Savage's Station, savagism, Savaii, savanna, Savannah, Savannah sparrow, Savannakhet, savanna monkey, savant

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

How to use savanna in a sentence

Fires in northern and central Australia’s dry, grassy savannas are seen as more climate neutral because the grasses can regrow more quickly, he says.
Australian fires in 2019–2020 had even more global reach than previously thought|Carolyn Gramling|September 15, 2021|Science News
The tallgrass prairie of the Great Plains or the tropical savanna in the Cerrado of Brazil, by contrast, are natural grasslands full of life.
Grass is good. Lawns are terrible.|Benji Jones|September 10, 2021|Vox
Currently, protected areas cover only about 8 percent of grasslands and savannas, according to his paper, compared with roughly 18 percent of forests.
Grass is good. Lawns are terrible.|Benji Jones|September 10, 2021|Vox
The Cerrado savanna is one of Brazil’s most ecologically diverse regions.
The Joy Of Idle Living|Sohini Das Gupta|August 29, 2021|Ozy

Worse, wildfires are pushing the Amazon toward a dangerous tipping point that, some scientists say, could turn large swaths of the forest into a dry savanna.
Fires in the Amazon are out of control. Again.|Benji Jones|August 27, 2021|Vox
The Savanna-La-Mar Hurricane then moved onto Cuba, killing more than 1,000, in total.
Uncovering Jamaica’s Jewish Past|Debra A. Klein|December 1, 2013|DAILY BEAST
In the morning, fueled by fresh fruit and anticipation, we thundered off to Savanna-La-Mar.
Uncovering Jamaica’s Jewish Past|Debra A. Klein|December 1, 2013|DAILY BEAST
After some perseverance in watching from the spot they had selected, they saw, one evening, camp fires far out on the savanna.
The Devil-Tree of El Dorado|Frank Aubrey
Beyond it stretched a savanna, where our pilot told us we should find abundance of small birds.
In the Wilds of Florida|W.H.G. Kingston
It was my first savanna sparrow's nest, whether eastern or western.
Birds of the Rockies|Leander Sylvester Keyser
The jabiru, the largest bird in Guiana, feeds in the marshy savanna through which you have just passed.
Wanderings in South America|Charles Waterton
From hence you proceed, in a south-west direction, through a long swampy savanna.
Wanderings in South America|Charles Waterton

British Dictionary definitions for savanna

savanna

savannah

/ (səˈvænə) /

noun

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

Word Origin for savanna

C16: from Spanish zavana, from Taino zabana

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 savanna

savanna

savannah

(sə-văn′ə)

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.

Cultural definitions for savanna

savanna

A tropical land mass of grassland and scattered trees.

savanna

or sa·van·nah

Origin of savanna

Words nearby savanna

Words related to savanna

How to use savanna in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for savanna

savannah

Word Origin for savanna

Scientific definitions for savanna

Cultural definitions for savanna