WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
prai•rie /ˈprɛri/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Geographya large, wide, level or slightly hilly area of land, mostly without trees, originally covered with grasses.
prai•rie
(prâr′ē),USA pronunciation n.
prai′rie•like′, adj.
Prairie, The,
- Geography, Place Namesan extensive, level or slightly undulating, mostly treeless tract of land in the Mississippi valley, characterized by a highly fertile soil and originally covered with coarse grasses, and merging into drier plateaus in the west. Cf. pampas, savanna, steppe.
- a tract of grassland;
meadow. - (in Florida) a low, sandy tract of grassland often covered with water.
- Dialect Terms[Southern U.S.]wet grassland;
marsh. - (cap.) a steam locomotive having a two-wheeled front truck, six driving wheels, and a two-wheeled rear truck. See table under Whyte classification.
- Vulgar Latin *prātāria, equivalent. to Latin prāt(um) meadow + -āria, feminine of -ārius -ary
- French: meadow
- 1675–85
Prairie, The,
- Literaturea historical novel (1827) by James Fenimore Cooper. Cf. Leather-Stocking Tales.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'prairie fire' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):