often attributive
1
: land in or predominantly in grass
2
: a tract of grassland: such as
a
: a large area of level or rolling land in the Mississippi River valley that in its natural uncultivated state usually has deep fertile soil, a cover of tall coarse grasses, and few trees
b
: one of the dry treeless plateaus east of the Rocky Mountains that merge on their east side with the prairies proper and are characterized by shorter grasses and drier less fertile soil
Synonyms
Examples of prairie in a Sentence
Millions of buffalo once roamed the prairies.
The train tracks extend over miles of prairie.
Recent Examples on the Web
Currently, there’s not a ton of great data about duck recruitment or survival rates on the prairie (biologists are working on it, and have theories about everything from habitat to predators like ravens).
—
Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 11 Sep. 2024
The friends form a family of misfits on the prairie played by Murray Hill, Jeff Hiller, and the delightful Mary Catherine Garrison, who plays Sam’s sister Trish.
—Lyz Lenz, Rolling Stone, 23 Oct. 2024
As the train moves closer to the Grand Canyon, the landscape transitions to prairies and then pine forests before ending at the South Rim, said Sam Langner, a spokesman for the Grand Canyon Railway and Hotel.
—Michael Salerno, The Arizona Republic, 2 Oct. 2024
Temporary route closure due to nesting falcons is typical each spring in order to protect nesting prairie and peregrine falcons.
—Drake Bentley, Journal Sentinel, 25 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for prairie 
Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 11 Sep. 2024
The friends form a family of misfits on the prairie played by Murray Hill, Jeff Hiller, and the delightful Mary Catherine Garrison, who plays Sam’s sister Trish.
—Lyz Lenz, Rolling Stone, 23 Oct. 2024
As the train moves closer to the Grand Canyon, the landscape transitions to prairies and then pine forests before ending at the South Rim, said Sam Langner, a spokesman for the Grand Canyon Railway and Hotel.
—Michael Salerno, The Arizona Republic, 2 Oct. 2024
Temporary route closure due to nesting falcons is typical each spring in order to protect nesting prairie and peregrine falcons.
—Drake Bentley, Journal Sentinel, 25 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for prairie
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'prairie.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near prairie
Cite this Entry
“Prairie.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prairie. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
prairie
noun
prai·rie
ˈpre(ə)r-ē 
: a large area of level or rolling grassland
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