[prair-ee] 
| 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. Compare pampas, savanna, steppe. |
| 2. | a tract of grassland; meadow. |
| 3. | (in Florida) a low, sandy tract of grassland often covered with water. |
| 4. | Southern U.S. wet grassland; marsh. |
| 5. | (initial capital letter ) a steam locomotive having a two-wheeled front truck, six driving wheels, and a two-wheeled rear truck. |
| a historical novel (1827) by James Fenimore Cooper. |
| prai·rie (prâr'ē) n. An extensive area of flat or rolling, predominantly treeless grassland, especially the large tract or plain of central North America. [French, from Old French praierie, from Vulgar Latin *prātāria, from Latin prāta, meadow.] |
