savanna — a grassy plain in tropical and subtropical regions, with few trees
Part of speech: NOUN
Definition: a grassy plain in tropical and subtropical regions, with few trees
Pronunciation (IPA): /səˈvænə/
Example Sentences
- The safari guide said we'd find more animals in the savanna than in his dating app.
- Climate change is affecting savanna ecosystems worldwide.
- Elephants migrate across the savanna following seasonal rains.
savanna
NOUN[/səˈvænə/]
a grassy plain in tropical and subtropical regions, with few trees

Grassy plains with scattered trees

In the savanna, wearing a bandana, eating a banana!
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🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
The word savanna derives from the Taíno language of the Caribbean, where 'zabana' referred to a wide, open plain. Spanish explorers in the 16th century borrowed this term from indigenous populations and transmitted it to English, where it eventually came to denote tropical or subtropical grasslands.
Breakdown
Taíno zabana → Spanish sabana → English savanna. The term originates from the Taíno root zabana (open plain/grassland), which was hispanicized to sabana and subsequently adopted into English with the phonetic variation savanna.
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“The safari guide said we'd find more animals in the savanna than in his dating app.”
“Climate change is affecting savanna ecosystems worldwide.”
“Elephants migrate across the savanna following seasonal rains.”
“My GPS got confused in the savanna and kept suggesting I make a U-turn at the nearest baobab tree.”
📚Related Words
Synonyms
Antonyms
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