tundra

American  

[tuhn-druh, toon-] / ˈtʌn drə, ˈtʊn- /

noun

1. one of the vast, nearly level, treeless plains of the Arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America.

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tundra British  

/ ˈtʌndrə /

noun

1. 1. a vast treeless zone lying between the ice cap and the timberline of North America and Eurasia and having a permanently frozen subsoil

   2. ( as modifier )

      tundra vegetation

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tundra Scientific  

/ tŭn′drə /

1. A cold, treeless, usually lowland area of far northern regions. The lower strata of soil of tundras are permanently frozen, but in summer the top layer of soil thaws and can support low-growing mosses, lichens, grasses, and small shrubs.

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tundra Cultural  

1. A land area near the North Pole where the soil is permanently frozen a few feet underground.

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Discover More

There are no trees on the tundra: the vegetation is primarily lichens and mosses.

Tundra is widespread in Lapland and in the far northern portions of Alaska, Canada, and the Soviet Union.

Etymology

Origin of tundra

First recorded in 1840–45; from Russian túndra, from Sami tundar “hill”; compare Kola Sami tūndar “flat elevated area”; akin to Finnish tunturi “Arctic hill”

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Compare meaning

How does tundra compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• taiga vs. tundra

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Explanation

The tundra is a vast treeless plain near the Arctic Circle where the subsoil is permanently frozen. Despite the stark cold, many animals thrive on the tundra, including insects, migrating birds, and foxes. A tundra is a great description of any stark icy cold place — say, the walk to class on a college campus during February — but it is an actual geographic location, near the Arctic circle in North America, Russia, and Scandinavia. Smaller tundras can exist near the South Pole but it's often too cold there. The word comes from the Finnish tunturria which means "barren land." Santa's reindeer live on the tundra and go by the name of caribou in North America. Of course, none of them can fly.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tundra

After enduring 30 Chicago winters, I gifted myself my Hollywood dream of being an actor surrounded by palm trees and green juice rather than tundra and cheese.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

Most one-day tundra tours from the Canadian town of Churchill, Manitoba, go just 20 miles or so in search of polar bears.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

They then used machine-learning models that incorporated environmental data from deserts, tundra, forests, and other ecosystems to predict fungal network density in regions where direct measurements were unavailable.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 15, 2026

It’s blitzes on the frozen tundra sure, but, it’s also Ernie Banks playing two on a beautiful July day.

From Salon ● Mar. 18, 2026

The length of her limbs and the beauty of her face were of no use to Miyax as she lay on the lichen-speckled frost heave in the midst of the bleak tundra.

From "Julie of the Wolves" by Jean Craighead George

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Related Words

• expanse
• prairie
• steppe
• wasteland

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