vegetation

American  

[vej-i-tey-shuhn] / ˌvɛdʒ ɪˈteɪ ʃən /

noun

vegetations plural

1. all the plants or plant life of a place, taken as a whole.

   the vegetation of the Nile valley.

2. the act or process of vegetating.

3. a dull existence; life devoid of mental or social activity.

   Synonyms:

   lethargy, sloth, idleness, inactivity

4. Pathology. a morbid growth, or excrescence.

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vegetation British  

/ ˌvɛdʒɪˈteɪʃən /

noun

1. plant life as a whole, esp the plant life of a particular region

2. the process of vegetating

3. pathol any abnormal growth, excrescence, etc

4. a vegetative existence

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vegetation Scientific  

/ vĕj′ĭ-tā′shən /

1. The plants of an area or a region; plant life.

2. An abnormal bodily accretion, especially a clot composed largely of fused blood platelets, fibrin, and sometimes bacteria, that adheres to a diseased heart valve.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonvegetation
  noun
• prevegetation
  noun
• undervegetation
  noun
• vegetational
  adjective
• vegetationless
  adjective
• vegetatious
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• vegetations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of vegetation

1555–65; < Medieval Latin vegetātiōn- (stem of vegetātiō ), equivalent to vegetāt- ( see vegetate) + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

Use the word vegetation to refer to all plants and trees collectively, typically those in a specific region. The vegetation in your backyard might look very lush and green in the springtime, unless you forget to water it. Vegetation, as well as meaning all plant growth, can refer to the growth process of a plant. The lettuce you planted a couple weeks ago is at an early stage of vegetation. Vegetation can also apply to people — or at least to those in a state of inactivity. Think about how slowly plants grow. It’s the same for a person who’s in a state of vegetation. You may sometimes enjoy the mindless vegetation of doing nothing at all.

Example Sentences

They are kept in a converted cattle barn, which has metal-fenced elevated walkways looking down on large pools of water surrounded by tropical vegetation.

From BBC • Jun. 19, 2026

In addition, the authors say selective use of photographs and the omission of potentially important factors, including human hunting, made it harder to determine what was truly driving changes in vegetation.

From Science Daily • Jun. 14, 2026

But luckily, he said, the park has a robust “ecological baseline,” which includes two decades of population monitoring, species documentation and vegetation inventories that can help guide and inform next steps.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026

Continued growth could place increasing pressure on food resources, native vegetation, and the broader ecosystem.

From Science Daily • Jun. 8, 2026

On January 18, 1919, investigators, with their pant legs rolled up, began to comb the thicket of vegetation.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

Related Words

• flora
• greenery