Meaning & use
veldt
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Meaning
nouncountable or uncountableregional
Open grassland in southern Africa, usually flat or gently rolling, with few trees and used for grazing.
Grammar: Often uncountable after the for landscape; plural veldts names particular stretches of land.
Patterns
- across the veldt
- on the open veldt
- graze on the veldt
- the high veldt
Antelope moved slowly across the veldt at dawn.
Farmers burned old grass on the veldt to encourage new growth.
The road crossed a dry veldt dotted with thorn trees.
Word forms
| plural | veldts |
|---|
Common combinations
- open veldt
- The camp stood on an open veldt with wide views.
- across the veldt
- Clouds threw shadows across the veldt.
- graze on the veldt
- Cattle graze on the veldt during the wet season.
Synonyms and how they differ
- savanna
- Savanna is broader tropical grassland with scattered trees; veldt is specifically southern African and often more open.
- grassland
- Grassland is the general world term; veldt names a regional southern African type.
- prairie
- Prairie refers especially to North American grasslands, not southern Africa.
Word family
- veld noun
- alternative spelling, common in South African and British use
Commonly confused: veldt or felt? veldt or field?
veldt vs felt
Felt is a soft cloth or the past tense of feel; veldt is grassland and is spelled with v and d.
veldt vs field
Field is any open area of land or a subject of study; veldt is a specific southern African landscape.
Practice
The word veldt is closest in meaning to _____.
Choose one answer.
Veldt means open grassy land in southern Africa, often used for grazing. The other choices describe different landscapes or places.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “veldt”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.