meadow

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A field of grass and wildflowers, often used for grazing animals or left natural.

   Grammar: A meadow is a countable noun: you can say 'a meadow' or 'meadows'.

   Patterns

   • a meadow of something
   • in the meadow

   The cows grazed peacefully in the meadow.

   We walked through a meadow full of wildflowers.

   The meadow behind the house is left uncut to encourage wildlife.

2. 2nouncountable

   A piece of land covered mainly with grass, often used for hay or pasture.

   Grammar: Still countable; often used in place names or descriptions of rural areas.

   Patterns

   • a meadow of grass
   • the meadow land

   The farmer cut the meadow for hay in late summer.

   They own several meadows along the river.

Word forms

Common combinations

wildflower meadow

The wildflower meadow attracts many bees and butterflies.

meadow land

The meadow land is too wet for building.

meadow grass

Meadow grass grows tall and soft in the spring.

water meadow

The water meadow floods every winter.

meadow flowers

She picked a bunch of meadow flowers.

Synonyms and how they differ

field

A field is a broader term for an area of open land, often used for crops or pasture; a meadow is specifically grassy and often uncultivated.

pasture

Pasture is land used for grazing animals, while a meadow may be left natural or used for hay.

grassland

Grassland is a large area dominated by grasses, often wild; a meadow is usually smaller and may be managed.

Word family

meadowy adjective

Resembling or characteristic of a meadow; grassy and flowery.

Commonly confused: meadow or medow?

Practice

Make it your own

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

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