vegetation

noun

veg·​e·​ta·​tion ˌve-jə-ˈtā-shən How to pronounce vegetation (audio)
Synonyms of vegetation
1
: plant life or total plant cover (as of an area)
2
: the act or process of vegetating
3
: inert existence
4
: an abnormal growth upon a body part
fibrin vegetations on the mitral valve
vegetational
ˌve-jə-ˈtā-sh(ə-)nəl How to pronounce vegetation (audio)
adjective

Synonyms of vegetation

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of vegetation in a Sentence

the dense vegetation of the jungle the local vegetation is flourishing as a result of the recent rains
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The investigation report also said the fire resulted from hot metal particles falling onto vegetation below the tower, which had not been cleared in years. — Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026 Seeking a way to maintain the trails, the Copleys decided to rely on foot traffic from hikers to keep down vegetation. — John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 28 Aug. 2026 That’s in part because of mild weather during its first two weeks, and because much of it is burning over terrain where there have been other fires in recent years, leaving less vegetation to burn explosively now. — Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 27 Aug. 2026 Planes are dropping retardant lines and bulldozers are pushing vegetation aside so the fire won’t have anything to consume. — Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for vegetation

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Medieval Latin vegetātiōn-, vegetātiō "power of growth," going back to Latin, "act of invigorating," from vegetāre "to impart energy to, invigorate" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal nouns — more at vegetate

First Known Use

1564, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of vegetation was in 1564

Rhymes for vegetation

See All Rhymes for vegetation

Browse Nearby Words

vegetate
vegetation
vegetational
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Vegetation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vegetation. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

vegetation

noun
veg·​e·​ta·​tion ˌvej-ə-ˈtā-shən How to pronounce vegetation (audio)
1
: the act or process of vegetating
2
: dull or inactive living
a life of tranquil vegetation
3
: plant life or cover (as of an area)

Medical Definition

vegetation

noun
veg·​e·​ta·​tion ˌvej-ə-ˈtā-shən How to pronounce vegetation (audio)
: an abnormal outgrowth upon a body part
specifically : any of the warty excrescences on the valves of the heart that are composed of various tissue elements including fibrin and collagen and that are typical of endocarditis
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All