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prairie

prairie

93 3.2
A large flat area covered in tall grasses with very few trees
  • noun
  • /ˈprɛəri/
  • US
: pradera
  • The explorers trekked across the vast expanse of prairie, amazed by the endless sea of tall grasses.
  • prairie grass
  • native prairie
  • prairie plants

It's being in the woods, on the Prairie, by the water.

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Examples

  • On the the prairies of North America there are birds like this.

  • Ahead lay the vast short-grass prairie of southern Kansas, where buffalo come together to carpet the earth.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • I find there is a feeling of the prairie where I was born.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • I just spent too much time staring at the prairie sun.

  • Out there lies the prairie

  • And, and I visited some of these prairies and they just are the most beautiful thing.

  • As a result, there is renewed hope that the tiny prairie will be preserved for future generations.

    Academic text (1991)
  • Saskatchewan is a Canadian prairie province with a total population of slightly under 1.1 million.

    Academic text (2011)
  • By now, prairie restoration is so successful that prairie projects are springing up all across the Midwest.

    Academic text (1993)
  • What I'm trying to say, Mr. Barber, is that you are a cool drink of Cheyenne spring water after a long gallop across the golden, arid prairie.

Synonyms

range
vsprairie
  • US
38 3.5

A large open area of grass where animals graze

is less about grazing use and more about tall grasses and treeless flatness
grassland
vsprairie
19 2.7

An open area covered mainly with grass where animals live or graze

is a named North American type often flatter and with taller grasses
steppe
vsprairie
7 7.5

A large flat area of grass with few or no trees

is similar but refers to North American regions rather than Eurasian ones

Compounds

13 4.7

A small animal that digs tunnels and lives in large groups on North American grasslands

3 8.0

A brown spotted bird that lives in North American grasslands and makes a low booming call during mating

2 7.3

A large fast fire that burns across dry grassland and spreads quickly in strong wind

2 4.7

A nickname for the state of Illinois because of its wide prairie land

2 3.5

A strong grass from North American prairies that turns bronze in autumn

1 9.6

A large brown bird that lives in North American grasslands and makes loud mating calls

1 8.2

Small rodent like a mouse that lives in prairie grass in North America

1 8.2

A small grassland bird in western Texas and nearby areas that dances to attract mates

1 6.0

A small wild animal that looks like a dog from western North America, often called a coyote

1 9.9

A large covered wagon used by early settlers to travel across the prairies

1 9.0

A brown bird with spotted feathers that lives on grasslands in western North America

1 9.9

A plant with leaves near the ground, thin flower stems, and pale pink or white flowers from northwest prairies

1 4.9

Ground under tall grass that is very good for growing crops

1 8.2

A large covered wagon with wide wheels used by settlers to travel across the plains

1 9.9

A wildflower with purple flowers and feathery seed plumes found on grassland

A venomous snake with a rattle that lives in dry grasslands in central North America

1 7.9

A venomous rattlesnake that lives in grasslands of central North America

A North American plant like a daisy with hanging yellow or red petals and a cone-shaped center

prairie dock
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A tall prairie plant with large low leaves and pale daisy-like flowers

1 8.3

A small grey fox that lives in the open grasslands of western North America

prairie fairy
  • Literature
1 9.9

A small magical being like a tiny person that lives on prairies and cares for plants

prairie willow
  • Specialized
1 8.5

A small willow bush that grows in dry prairie areas

1 9.5

A plant with violet flowers that grows in the open grasslands of the central United States

1 8.5

A brown and spotted North American bird that lives in prairie grasslands, like the prairie chicken

1 9.2

A North American wildflower with upright blue bell-shaped flowers

prairie cordgrass
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A tall coarse grass that grows in prairies and wetlands and shelters birds and small animals

1 9.5

A wild crab apple tree with fragrant pink flowers

1 9.7

A wild flowering plant in North American wet prairies with small creamy scented flowers

A wild plant with bright yellow petals that grows in central United States grasslands

1 9.3

A short hairy plant with blue-violet or lilac flowers that blooms in early spring

1 9.6

An annual North American plant with red or pink flowers that grows in prairies

1 9.9

A North American wildflower from central United States with dark purple, stemless flowers

A small squirrel-like animal that lives underground in groups and has a black-tipped tail

pomme de prairie
  • Specialized
9.9

A plant from central North America that lives many years, has hairy leaves, and an edible underground root

A small wild tree that makes soft, sweet fruit like a banana

9.9

A wild plant with silvery leaves and round berries that people use to curdle milk

A North American plant that lives for one year with bright pink or red pea-like flowers

A plant with many small yellow flowers that grows in dry prairie areas

A vine that grows in dry fields and makes small hard green fruits that are not edible

9.9

A long-lived vine from dry central and southwestern US and Mexico that has small hard green-and-white fruits not for eating

9.9

A small hard green-and-white fruit from a wild North American vine not for eating

8.2

A North American annual plant with pink flowers that grows on prairies

A plant from the western United States with bright red flowers in small clusters

A wild plant with bright yellow flowers that grows on plains

8.0

A plant that lives for many years with soft white leaves and grows in the US Southwest

A perennial plant with soft, fragrant leaves and brownish-yellow flowers

A small wild plant with many white flowers that grows in grasslands

prairie wake-robin
  • Specialized
9.9

A wildflower with dark purple flowers without stems that grows in central United States prairies

A rare wildflower with white, fringed petals that grows in prairies

A fragrant orchid that grows in wet prairie meadows with white fringed flowers

A small animal that lives in holes in the ground and has a white-tipped tail, found in western US grasslands

A plant with small white flowers that grows in open grasslands

How Big

prairie
  • US
93 3.2
field
777 1.0
meadow
79 1.0
garden
979 1.0
lawn
465 1.0

Surface Forms

prairie singular
prairies plural

Etymology

The word prairie comes from the French word prairie, which meant 'meadow' and comes from the old Latin word pratum 'meadow'. So in North America prairie grew to mean a very large, flat area of grass — a wide open field covered with tall grasses.