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
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
This is like taking a Conestoga wagon from the prairie to the desert.
—
Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 11 July 2025
But there's no denying the force of those would-be Fingers of God that terrorize the prairie, scooping up houses, tanker trucks, and, best of all, a mooing steer.
—Ew Staff Published, EW.com, 3 July 2025
Kankakee Sands, an 8,400-acre expanse of prairie and wetlands in northern Indiana, is adding accessible parking, viewing scopes and signs to help tell the history of the area and a new chapter about The Nature Conservancy's efforts to restore the ecosystem where 90 bison are thriving.
—Karl Schneider, IndyStar, 2 July 2025
Yet the lifespans of Europeans and Americans lengthened in the nineteenth century precisely because swaths of prairie were planted with wheat and hundreds of millions of cattle, pigs, and poultry could be killed for meat in industrial facilities.
—Michael Albertus, Foreign Affairs, 24 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for prairie
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 11 July 2025
But there's no denying the force of those would-be Fingers of God that terrorize the prairie, scooping up houses, tanker trucks, and, best of all, a mooing steer.
—Ew Staff Published, EW.com, 3 July 2025
Kankakee Sands, an 8,400-acre expanse of prairie and wetlands in northern Indiana, is adding accessible parking, viewing scopes and signs to help tell the history of the area and a new chapter about The Nature Conservancy's efforts to restore the ecosystem where 90 bison are thriving.
—Karl Schneider, IndyStar, 2 July 2025
Yet the lifespans of Europeans and Americans lengthened in the nineteenth century precisely because swaths of prairie were planted with wheat and hundreds of millions of cattle, pigs, and poultry could be killed for meat in industrial facilities.
—Michael Albertus, Foreign Affairs, 24 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for prairie
Cite this Entry
“Prairie.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prairie. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
prairie
noun
prai·rie
ˈpre(ə)r-ē 
: a large area of level or rolling grassland
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