savannas

noun

variants also savannahs
plural of savanna
as in plains
a broad area of level or rolling treeless country lions roaming the savanna

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of savannas The center of the activities was a grove, within a ring of trees, considered to be one of the oldest oak savannas in the state. — Gregory Harutunian, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026 The new property is nestled inside a 45,000-acre private conservancy with open savannahs and waterholes nearby. — Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 8 July 2026 This includes savannahs and shrublands. — Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 17 June 2026 Finally, Iris is a tribute to the native plant and flower of the sub-Saharan savannas that giraffes call home. — Usa Today, USA Today, 16 June 2026 Palos Hills and its diverse ecosystems of grasslands, wetlands, savannas, and woodlands. — Diane Penningroth, Midwest Living, 12 June 2026 Earth’s biosphere includes microbes, forests, savannas, animals, and more. — Big Think, 22 Apr. 2026 Elephants are among the planet’s most majestic creatures, gentle giants who walk steadfastly through the savannas, forests and deserts of Africa and Asia. — Catherine Garcia, TheWeek, 2 Apr. 2026 No colonial power had ever controlled the swamps and savannas of the interior—an alien land of lagoons, glade marshes, prairies, and hardwood thickets. — Literary Hub, 23 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for savannas
  1. plains
  2. prairies
  3. steppes
  4. grasslands
Noun
  • Tycho Crater is visible in the lower region of the lunar disk close to the shadow, while bright ejecta rays of reflective material brighten the darker lunar seas, where lava solidified to form basaltic plains billions of years ago.
    — Anthony Wood, Space.com, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Away from both sides of the road stretched rocky plains, dry and gray as parchment.
    — Leslie E. Tassell, Outdoor Life, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of plains
Noun
  • Native to the shortgrass prairies of the Great Plains, it’s suited to poor, gravelly soils.
    — Beth Botts, Chicago Tribune, 23 Aug. 2026
  • The route passes through diverse landscapes, including forests, prairies, lakes, and the Rocky Mountains, with stops in cities like Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton, and Jasper.
    — Maryam Siddiqi, Travel + Leisure, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of prairies
Noun
  • Historical legacy is not destiny, and Russia’s excesses cannot be blamed solely on its ties to the political culture of the steppes.
    — Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026
  • The unification of the Eurasian steppes under Genghis Khan and his successors—Ögödei, Möngke, and Kublai Khan—brought many of these trade routes under a single political authority for the first time.
    — Ethan Teekah, Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of steppes
Noun
  • The urban-wildland interface — where human development intermingles with wild places such as scrublands, grasslands and forests — is the fastest-growing land-use type in the United States.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Swim, canoe, geocache, and bird-watch among Bastrop State Park’s mosaic of pines, oaks, shrubs, and grasslands, which are punctuated by a carpet of bluebonnets each spring.
    — Allison Tibaldi, USA Today, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of grasslands

Browse Nearby Words

savanna
savannas
savant
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Savannas.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/savannas. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
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!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of dissonant

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

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

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

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

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

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

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

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

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

Popular

See More

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

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
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