Prairie Meaning
/ˈpɹɛə.ɹi/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounAn extensive area of relatively flat grassland with few, if any, trees, especially in North America.
nameAlternative form of Prairies.
Sentence Examples
Laura Ingalls grew up on the prairie.
Nothing but grass was to be seen in the prairie.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The settlers built their farm on the flat ____ where grass grew as far as the eye could see.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The vast ____ stretched to the horizon, covered in tall grass that swayed in the wind.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from French prairie, from Old French praerie, from Vulgar Latin *prataria, from Latin prātum (“meadow”) + -aria.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"It was not far from the house; but the ground sank into a depression there, and the ridge of it behind shut out everything except just the roof of the tallest hayrick. As one sat on the sward behind the elm, with the back turned on the rick and nothing in front but the tall elms and the oaks in the other hedge, it was quite easy to fancy it the verge of the prairie with the backwoods close by."
— 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The settlers built their farm on the flat ____ where grass grew as far as the eye could see.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The vast ____ stretched to the horizon, covered in tall grass that swayed in the wind.