— prairielike , adj.
/prair"ee/ , n.
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. Cf. 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. ( cap. ) a steam locomotive having a two-wheeled front truck, six driving wheels, and a two-wheeled rear truck. See table under Whyte classification .
[ 1675-85; prataria, equiv. to L prat ( um ) meadow + -aria, fem. of -arius -ARY ]