a plain

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A large area of flat land with few trees and no big hills.

   Grammar: Countable: you can say a plain, the plain, or plains for more than one.

   Patterns

   • a plain of something
   • across a plain
   • on a plain

   The road runs straight across a wide plain for miles.

   Herds of cattle graze on a plain near the river.

   After the mountains, the land opens into a plain.

2. 2nouncountableliterary

   A level stretch of ground seen as a setting for an event or way of life.

   Grammar: Often used with of: a plain of ice, the plains of Africa.

   Patterns

   • the plains of a place
   • a plain of something

   Writers often describe the great plains of the American West.

   They crossed a frozen plain of snow and ice.

Word forms

Common combinations

a wide plain

A wide plain stretched away to the horizon.

the open plain

There was nothing but the open plain in every direction.

across the plain

The herd moved slowly across the plain.

a coastal plain

Much of the country's farming happens on a coastal plain.

the plains of Africa

Lions and zebras live on the plains of Africa.

Synonyms and how they differ

flatland

Flatland is a more general, slightly technical word for any low, level ground, while a plain is usually a large open area of this kind.

prairie

A prairie is specifically a grassy plain in North America, so it is narrower than plain.

steppe

A steppe is a dry grassy plain, especially in Asia or eastern Europe; plain is the everyday, general term.

Opposites

Word family

plain adjective

Simple, ordinary, or without decoration.

plainly adverb

In a clear or simple way.

plainness noun

The quality of being simple or without decoration.

Commonly confused: a plain or plane?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “a plain”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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