Savanna
noun /səˈvænə/ — A vast tropical grassland — open sky, scattered trees, and the feeling of being watched.
Definition
A grassy plain in tropical and subtropical regions, with few trees, characterized by wide-open landscape and seasonal rainfall.
Beyond the definition
The savanna is where our ancestors lived — the landscape that is written into the oldest parts of our nervous systems. The open sight-lines, the scattered trees for shelter, the feeling of wide sky: evolutionary researchers suggest humans find this landscape beautiful for reasons we carry in our bodies.
Origin & history
From Spanish sabana — a flat treeless plain (possibly from Taino zabana). The Spanish borrowed the word from the people who lived in those landscapes, who named what they knew.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
The savanna at dawn — golden grass, distant acacia trees, the sound of something very large moving through.
She felt a pull toward open landscapes she couldn't explain until she read about the savanna hypothesis.
A savanna is grassland that has decided not to become forest: seasonal fire and drought keep it open.
How to use it
This entry uses a noun. Follow the examples for articles and singular or plural forms; not every noun takes “a” or “an.”
Choose “Savanna” when the meaning fits your context: A grassy plain in tropical and subtropical regions, with few trees, characterized by wide-open landscape and seasonal rainfall.
Synonyms
Antonyms
forest, jungle, thicket
Related words
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Illustrative example
Herd of giraffes in grassland
A herd of giraffes stands together in an open, wide, grassy landscape with few trees.
The open grassland with scattered trees is characteristic of a savanna. The vast, wide-open view illustrates this tropical and subtropical biome.
Image credit: Monarto Safari Park (ZoosSA) · CC BY-SA 4.0 (license)
Resized and converted to WebP; displayed with a fitted crop.
Questions about this word
What does "Savanna" mean?
Savanna is noun meaning: A vast tropical grassland — open sky, scattered trees, and the feeling of being watched.. A grassy plain in tropical and subtropical regions, with few trees, characterized by wide-open landscape and seasonal rainfall.
Where does the word "Savanna" come from?
From Spanish sabana — a flat treeless plain (possibly from Taino zabana). The Spanish borrowed the word from the people who lived in those landscapes, who named what they knew.