tundra

UK/ˈtʌndɹə/US/ˈtʌndɹə/

nounB2+Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #12,241 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: tundras

Tundra is the treeless frozen plains of the far north. Arctic tundra, cross the tundra, tundra vegetation.

Nothing tall grows because the ground below stays frozen all year, so roots have nowhere to go. That frozen ground holds enormous quantities of carbon, which is why the thawing of tundra matters far beyond the north.

Definitions of tundra

1nountundraThe treeless frozen plains of the far north.B2+
“Reindeer graze on the mosses of the Arctic tundra.”

tundra is a land.

Where it comes from

Russian
ту́ндра
English, today
tundra

Borrowed from Russian ту́ндра.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Nature & Weather

Practise this word

tundra in the wild

There are three regions and associated types of tundra: Arctic, Alpine, and Antarctic.
Tundra
The ecotone (or ecological boundary region) between the tundra and the forest is known as the tree line or timberline.
Tundra
Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated harsh climate.
Alpine tundra
As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets lower until it reaches sea level and merges with polar tundra.
Alpine tundra
During the breeding season, tundra swans become aggressive, and may attack passing animals and other tundra swans; outside of the breeding season, they can form groups.
Tundra swan

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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