steppe

[step] /stɛp/
noun
1.
an extensive plain, especially one without trees.
2.
The Steppes,
  1. the vast grasslands, especially those in the S and E European and W and SW Asian parts of Russia.
  2. Kirghiz Steppe.
Origin
1665-75; < Russian step' or Ukrainian step; ulterior origin uncertain
Can be confused
step, steppe.
Examples from the web for steppe
  • When he escaped from prison he was quickly back on the steppe.
  • His salary has helped make them well-off by steppe standards.
  • The fire ecology of intermountain steppe is influenced by its distinctive physiognomy and phenology.
  • The effects of precipitation timing on sagebrush steppe vegetation.
  • Shrub-steppe early succession following invasive juniper cutting and prescribed fire.
  • Fire is a natural process in the sagebrush steppe and any given area can be expected to burn perhaps once a century.
  • Some areas of degraded shrub-steppe will need to be restored in order to support nesting sage-grouse.
British Dictionary definitions for steppe

steppe

/stɛp/
noun
1.
(often pl) an extensive grassy plain usually without trees Compare prairie, pampas
Word Origin
C17: from Old Russian step lowland
Word Origin and History for steppe
n.

vast treeless plain of southeastern Europe and of Asia, 1670s, from Russian *step', of unknown origin.

steppe in Science
steppe
  (stěp)   
A vast, semiarid grassland, as found in southeast Europe, Siberia, and central North America.