rhizoverbBeta
DictionarysteppeTreeless grassland
noun

steppe

STEP/step/

A broad, treeless grassland, especially in Eurasia.

Dry grass covers the broad, nearly treeless steppe.

An immense, nearly treeless dry grassland, with tawny short grasses extending across a broad, gently rolling plain to a distant low horizon.
Etymology
steppeRussianvast treeless plain

Russian step' names a vast treeless plain. The English term broadened from the plains of southeastern Europe and Asiatic Russia to similar open landscapes elsewhere; the Russian word's deeper origin is unknown.

In context

TED-Ed0:17
was forged on the open plains. In the 12th century CE, before the Mongol Empire formed, the East Asian steppe was home to scattered groups of Mongol and Turkic pastoral nomads led by Khans.
The rise and fall of the Mongol Empire - Anne F. Broadbridge

More examples

  • The traveler described the treeless steppe stretching to the horizon.
  • Cold winds swept the Eurasian steppe.
  • The map marks a broad belt of steppe grassland.

Forms

steppe

Similar words

prairie
Prairie commonly names North American grassland; steppe especially names drier Eurasian grassland.
savanna
Savanna has scattered trees and is often tropical; steppe is generally treeless temperate grassland.