terrain

C1 Topic:Nature & Landscape

US /təˈɹeɪn/ See IPA manual

Freq #11061

Meanings

1

noun
An area of land, especially with regard to its natural features.

The hikers struggled across the rocky terrain.
2

noun
The surface of the ground, considered in terms of its shape and obstacles.

The vehicle is built to handle rough terrain.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · an area of land, especially... ground

Word family

Forms terrains

Derived forms all-terrain

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

hilly terrain
Land containing many hills and slopes.

Adjective + noun

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French terrain, from Latin terrenum (“land, ground”), neuter of terrenus (“consisting of earth”), from terra (“earth”).

*ters- Proto-Indo-European terrain French terrenum Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Nature & Landscape

External links

# terrain

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /təˈɹeɪn/
**Frequency rank:** 11061

## Meanings
1. An area of land, especially with regard to its natural features.
2. The surface of the ground, considered in terms of its shape and obstacles.

## Examples
- The hikers struggled across the rocky terrain.
- The vehicle is built to handle rough terrain.

## Derived Forms
- all-terrain

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *ters-
- Root: terrain
- Root: terrenum

## Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from French terrain, from Latin terrenum (“land, ground”), neuter of terrenus (“consisting of earth”), from terra (“earth”).

## AI Etymology
Terrain is an unadapted borrowing from French terrain, from Latin terrenum (“land, ground”), neuter of terrenus (“consisting of earth”), from terra (“earth”). In present-day use, it can mean an area of land, especially with regard to its natural features, or the surface of the ground, considered in terms of its shape and obstacles. Derived formations include all-terrain.

## Topics
- Nature & Landscape

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