steppe
Plural: steppes
Noun
- A large area of flat grassland, typically treeless.
- extensive plain without trees (associated with eastern Russia and Siberia)
- The grasslands of Eastern Europe and Asia. Similar to (North American) prairie and (African) savanna.
- A vast, cold, dry, grassy plain.
Examples
- Playing STEPPE opened up a vast, treeless plain of opportunities on the Scrabble board.
Origin / Etymology
From German Steppe or French steppe, in turn from Russian степь (stepʹ, “flat grassy plain”). There is no generally accepted earlier etymology, but there is a speculative Old East Slavic reconstruction *сътепь (sŭtepĭ, “trampled place, flat, bare”), related to топот (topot), топтать (toptatĭ).
Scrabble Score: 10
steppe: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordsteppe: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
steppe: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary
Words With Friends Score: 12
steppe: valid Words With Friends Word