Meaning & use
meadows
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“meadows” is a form of “meadow”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
nounplural
Fields of grass and wild flowers, especially ones used for cutting hay or for grazing animals.
Grammar: Plural of meadow: the meadows turn gold in summer.
Patterns
- meadows of something
- meadows by something
Cows were grazing in the meadows beside the river.
In June the meadows are full of wild flowers and buzzing bees.
We walked for hours through the green meadows.
Word forms
| singular | meadow |
|---|
Common combinations
- green meadows
- We picnicked in green meadows near the lake.
- wildflower meadows
- Wildflower meadows attract butterflies.
- meadows and woods
- The path wound through meadows and woods.
- water meadows
- The water meadows flood each winter.
- alpine meadows
- Alpine meadows bloom after the snow melts.
Synonyms and how they differ
- pastures
- Pastures are fields kept mainly for animals to graze, whereas meadows suggest wild flowers and hay.
- fields
- Fields is the general word for any open farmland, so it is less poetic than meadows.
- grasslands
- Grasslands means large natural areas of grass, much wider than a small meadow.
- leas
- Leas is an old literary word for grassland and is rarely used now.
Opposites
Word family
- meadow noun
- one field of grass
- meadowland noun
- land made up of meadows
- meadowsweet noun
- a plant with creamy flowers found in meadows
- meadowlark noun
- a songbird of open fields
Commonly confused: meadows or medals?
meadows vs medals
Medals are awards, and the word merely sounds slightly similar to meadows.
Practice
In late spring the cows were let out into the ___, where grass and flowers grew tall.
Choose one answer.
Cows graze in meadows, which are grassy fields. The other words do not describe grassy fields for animals.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “meadows”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.