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Savannah

American  
[suh-van-uh] / səˈvæn ə /

noun

  1. a seaport in E Georgia, near the mouth of the Savannah River.

  2. a river flowing SE from E Georgia along most of the boundary between Georgia and South Carolina and into the Atlantic. 314 miles (505 km) long.


Savannah British  
/ səˈvænə /

noun

  1. a port in the US, in E Georgia, near the mouth of the Savannah River: port of departure of the Savannah for Liverpool (1819), the first steamship to cross the Atlantic. Pop: 127 573 (2003 est)

  2. a river in the southeastern US, formed by the confluence of the Tugaloo and Seneca Rivers in NW South Carolina: flows southeast to the Atlantic. Length: 505 km (314 miles)

"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

Explanation

An ecosystem made up of a mix of grassland and wooded areas is called a savannah. The African savannah is home to elephants, zebras, lions, and many other animals. A savannah is different from a forest because the widely spaced trees allow plenty of sunlight to filter through, resulting in dense grasses. Most savannahs are located in tropical areas, but even North America has its share — and before the 19th century, areas of land kept clear by controlled fires were also described as savannahs. Although the word means "treeless plain" in Spanish, a true savannah does have trees as well as grasses.

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Vocabulary lists containing savannah

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.

Savannah and Cole have not revealed whether the property is now completed, and their most recent social media content suggests that they are still residing in their Tennessee home.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 24, 2026

Everleigh has played a significant role in her mother’s content for years now, ever since Savannah launched her first online endeavor: a fashion blog that regularly featured images of her daughter.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 24, 2026

She writes about listings and sales of high-priced houses, specializing in transactions on the east half of the U.S., from Greenwich, Conn., to Savannah, Ga., to Chicago.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026

Though the exact date of Savannah Guthrie’s return to work on ‘Today’ remains uncertain, the longtime host paid a visit to her NBC family Thursday.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

My dad's driving in from Savannah this weekend, and we're doing the traditional Hotel Hanukkah.

From "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" by Becky Albertalli