Definition of "prairie" []

• An extensive area of flat or rolling, predominantly treeless grassland, especially the large tract or plain of central North America. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The term prairie is a misnomer in this case; instead we found a beautiful fruitful valley lying between two low ranges of hills, interspersed with groves of trees and picturesque lakes, and watered by a river winding gracefully through its whole length."
• "Even in the towns that survive and in some cases flourish, the prairie is a presence just beyond main street or the railroad tracks or the strip malls."
• "In a leadership made up mostly of veteran senators from the South, 47-year-old Thune brings youth and what he calls the prairie sensibilities he learned growing up in small town South Dakota."