steppe

American  

[step] / stɛp /

noun

1. an extensive plain, especially one without trees.

2. The Steppes,

   1. Also called Great Steppe.  Also called Eurasian Steppe,.  the vast grasslands stretching from Asia to Eastern Europe, bounded on the north by European and Asian Russia and Siberia.

   2. Kirghiz Steppe.

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steppe British  

/ stɛp /

noun

1. (often plural) an extensive grassy plain usually without trees Compare prairie pampas

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steppe Scientific  

/ stĕp /

1. A vast, semiarid grassland, as found in southeast Europe, Siberia, and central North America.

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Etymology

Origin of steppe

First recorded in 1665–75; from Russian step' or Ukrainian step; further origin uncertain

Explanation

A steppe is a large geographic area of flat land. A prairie is a kind of steppe. This type of land can be found in both cold and warm environments — from Siberia to Mexico. A steppe, pronounced like the word step, is not quite dry enough to be a desert but not fertile enough for trees to grow. Think of it as a semi-desert covered in grass and shrubs. The word steppe can also be used to describe the climate in areas that are too dry for a forest, but not quite dry enough to be desert.

Example Sentences

Increased interaction with animals and expanding travel across the steppe may have exposed people to disease reservoirs in the environment.

From Science Daily • Mar. 7, 2026

They also compared the bone of modern elephants and steppe mammoths to determine which animal it came from.

From BBC • Feb. 16, 2026

While sand and the steppe have always been part of life in Central Asia, scientists warn climate change and other human activities are accelerating desertification and the degradation of the land.

From Barron's • Dec. 18, 2025

Federal officials designated the Montgomery Pass Wild Horse Territory, a remote area spanning sagebrush steppe and pinyon pine forest east of Mono Lake.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 7, 2025

Large areas of the former Fertile Crescent are now desert, semidesert, steppe, or heavily eroded or salinized terrain unsuited for agriculture.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

• grassland
• prairie
• savanna