steppe

[step]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR steppe ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an extensive plain, especially one without trees.

The Steppes,

the vast grasslands, especially those in the S and E European and W and SW Asian parts of Russia.
Kirghiz Steppe.

RELATED WORDS

grassland, prairie, savanna, plain

Nearby words

Origin of steppe

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

Can be confusedstep steppe

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for steppe

Eating was almost equally irregular, for the steppe afforded but few opportunities of enjoying a good meal.
The Siberian Overland Route from Peking to Petersburg,|Alexander Michie
Have the fromager of the Cantal hills and the Caussenard of the Lozrien steppe their legends, folklore, songs?
The Roof of France|Matilda Betham-Edwards
A wolf took to flight; occasionally a hare leapt up out of the steppe grass, and locusts flew about noisily.
Trans-Himalaya, Vol. 2 (of 2)|Sven Hedin
The background was a shadowy suggestion of steppe farm-land, unobtrusively implying vast distances of bluish-gray.
The Genius|Margaret Horton Potter

You know my moods too well, I think, not to understand that I have suddenly felt the call of the steppe.
High Noon|Anonymous

British Dictionary definitions for steppe

steppe

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

Word Origin and History for steppe