prairie: Meaning and Definition of

prai•rie

1. an extensive, level or slightly undulating, mostly treeless tract of land in the Mississippi valley, characterized by a highly fertile soil and originally covered with coarse grasses, and merging into drier plateaus in the west. Cf.
2. a tract of grassland; meadow.
3. (in Florida) a low, sandy tract of grassland often covered with water.
4. wet grassland; marsh.
5. (cap.) a steam locomotive having a two-wheeled front truck, six driving wheels, and a two-wheeled rear truck. See table under

Prairie The

1. a historical novel (1827) by James Fenimore Cooper. Cf.