floodplain

noun

Definition of floodplainnext
1
as in basin

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in grassland

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of floodplain Strata recorded several types of zones for the development, ranging from floodplains to moderate or steeply sloping areas. — Nick Rosenberger, Idaho Statesman, 17 Feb. 2025 The Lower Mississippi Valley is the nation's largest floodplain, covering more than 24 million acres across portions Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee. — Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 16 Feb. 2025 Expanding this approach to certain river floodplains, fire-prone canyons and other high-risk zones would curb reckless development. — Eli Lehrer, Boston Herald, 12 Feb. 2025 But the park’s open floodplains—many of which aren’t driveable—also offer a network of canoe trails that bring you equally close to lions, leopards, waterbucks, crocodiles, elephants, and the enigmatic African wild dogs. — Alexandra Owens, AFAR Media, 10 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for floodplain
Recent Examples of Synonyms for floodplain
  1. basin
  2. grassland
  3. canyon
  4. prairie
  5. pothole
  6. gulch
  7. savanna
  8. ravine
Noun
  • SpaceX Falcon 9 carrying the Draper Lunar Lander headed for the moon’s Schrödinger basin on the lunar far side.
    — Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel, 18 Mar. 2025
  • Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander captures eclipse from moon Blue Ghost's first look of the eclipse came at about 1:30 a.m. EST Friday from the spacecraft's landing site in Mare Crisium, a 300-mile-wide basin on the near side of the moon believed to have been created by volcanic eruptions.
    — Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 14 Mar. 2025
Definition of basin
Noun
  • Its lush grasslands and graphics are beautiful to look at, but feudal Japan’s landscapes can appear homogeneous.
    — George Yang, Rolling Stone, 18 Mar. 2025
  • In the plains of northern Kazakhstan, swampy forests meet grasslands as rivers cut through the landscape.
    — Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 18 Mar. 2025
Definition of grassland
Noun
  • Smallmouths are also impacting rainbow and brown trout, two other non-natives that are managed closely in the canyon.
    — Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 13 Mar. 2025
  • With its warm wood planking, plentiful resting areas, and plantings of long, waving grasses, the park, no matter how crowded, feels like a calm canyon snaking through crumbling tenements and monumental skyscrapers, offering occasional glimpses of the Hudson River beyond.
    — News Desk, Artforum, 13 Mar. 2025
Definition of canyon
Noun
  • The acquisition expands the Lakewood Forest Preserve, the largest in the county with more than 2,900 acres of trails, woodlands, prairies, wetlands and lakes according to a county press release.
    — Joseph States, Chicago Tribune, 14 Mar. 2025
  • In revealing how the prairie was consumed by colonization and agricultural practices time has proven detrimental, Smarsh’s piece is equal parts fascinating history and ecology lesson.
    — Longreads, Longreads, 19 Dec. 2024
Definition of prairie
Noun
  • The House and Senate will ultimately have to pass the exact same budget package, and the road to that outcome looks filled with potholes.
    — Mark Davis, Newsweek, 14 Mar. 2025
  • The roads outside Nissan Technical Center Europe are a mix of rural and town roads, with potholes, blind corners, some narrow widths, and plenty of obstacles, including, today, me.
    — Carlton Reid, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2025
Definition of pothole
Noun
  • From this elevation west across the deep gulch that existed was one of the toughest pulls of the entire trail.
    — Dan Kelly, Kansas City Star, 26 Jan. 2025
  • In the Star Wars: Skeleton Crew premiere, did Wim’s dad seem to find him pretty quickly, considering that that gulch was a long speeder bike ride away from home?
    — Charlie Mason, TVLine, 6 Dec. 2024
Definition of gulch
Noun
  • The movie played on an outdoor cinema screen in an artificially aged amphitheatre nestled in a reservation in the desert, complete with a sprawling savanna.
    — Caroline Reid, Forbes, 21 Dec. 2024
  • Shakespearean undercurrents provide the pulse of the narrative, a cat fight for the throne of a pride of lions on an African savanna alongside a coming-of-age cat tale.
    — Rod Stafford Hagwood, Sun Sentinel, 8 Mar. 2025
Definition of savanna
Noun
  • If reaching a safe shelter is not possible, either crouch down in your car and cover your head, or leave your vehicle and seek refuge in a low-lying area like a ditch or ravine.
    — NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 16 Mar. 2025
  • If no alternative exists, set up camp in a valley, ravine, or other low-lying areas.
    — Southern California Weather Report, Orange County Register, 13 Mar. 2025
Definition of ravine

Browse Nearby Words

floodlit
floodplain
floodplains
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Floodplain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/floodplain. Accessed 29 Mar. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on floodplain

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about floodplain

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Words You Always Have to Look Up

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Top 10 Sophisticated Insults

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Top 10 Sophisticated Insults

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
burrowing owl athene cunicularia tilts its head outside its burrow on marco island florida
Guess the Curious Origins of These Everyday Words Oh, that’s where that comes from…
See All