steppe

[ step ]
/ stɛp /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR steppe ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an extensive plain, especially one without trees.
The Steppes,
  1. the vast grasslands, especially those in the S and E European and W and SW Asian parts of Russia.
  2. Kirghiz Steppe.

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Origin of steppe

1665–75; < Russian step' or Ukrainian step; ulterior origin uncertain

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH steppe

step steppe

Words nearby steppe

stepmother, stepney, stepover, steppage, stepparent, steppe, stepped-up, steppenwolf, stepper, steppes, stepping stone
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to steppe

grassland, prairie, savanna, plain

Example sentences from the Web for steppe

British Dictionary definitions for steppe

steppe
/ (stɛp) /

noun

(often plural) an extensive grassy plain usually without treesCompare prairie, pampas

Word Origin for steppe

C17: from Old Russian step lowland
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 steppe

steppe
[ stĕp ]

A vast, semiarid grassland, as found in southeast Europe, Siberia, and central North America.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.