tundra

[tuhn-druh, too n-] /ˈtʌn drə, ˈtʊn-/

noun

one of the vast, nearly level, treeless plains of the arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America.

Origin

1835-45; < Russian túndra < Lappish; compare Kola Lappish tūndar flat elevated area

Examples from the web for tundra

The prospect of taiga and tundra migrating towards the poles to areas that are now under ice terrifies them.
One is that huge amounts of methane, a particularly potent greenhouse gas, are stored in the permafrost of the tundra.
Frozen dog dirt stipples the tundra of the golf course.
It is home to bobcats and otter and a haven for birds, from great blue herons to warblers to tundra swans.
Fishing for salmon and camping out among the ice, tundra and lava might help cut costs.
It is a global species, living everywhere but the harshest deserts and the coldest tundra.
From coast to coast, from tundra to coral reef, state governments are in an awful fix.
Tells about the kinds of tundra and why it's so fragile.
For some reason, environments from the tropics to the tundra seem to have the same distribution of species.
If this were to happen, the study noted, the tundra would all but vanish.

British Dictionary definitions for tundra

tundra

/ˈtʌndrə/

noun

a vast treeless zone lying between the ice cap and the timberline of North America and Eurasia and having a permanently frozen subsoil
(as modifier): tundra vegetation

Word Origin

C19: from Russian, from Lapp tundar hill; related to Finnish tunturi treeless hill

Word Origin and History for tundra

an Arctic steppe, 1841, from Russian tundra, from Lappish tundar "elevated wasteland."

tundra in Science

tundra

(tŭn'drə)
A cold, treeless, usually lowland area of far northern regions. The lower strata of soil of tundras are permanently frozen, but in summer the top layer of soil thaws and can support low-growing mosses, lichens, grasses, and small shrubs.

tundra in Culture

tundra definition

A land area near the North Pole where the soil is permanently frozen a few feet underground.

Note: There are no trees on the tundra: the vegetation is primarily lichens and mosses.

Note: Tundra is widespread in Lapland and in the far northern portions of Alaska, Canada, and the Soviet Union.