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Prairie
01
a flat, wide area of land with no or very few trees in North America
Grammatical Information
Animacy status
Inanimate
Composition
Simple
Countable
Plural form
prairies
02
(Chicago, Upper Midwest) a vacant lot or undeveloped piece of land, often in an urban area
Slang
What does "prairie" mean in Chicago and Upper Midwest slang?
It is used in Chicago and parts of the Upper Midwest to describe a vacant lot or undeveloped piece of land in an urban area, often overgrown with weeds or left unused. The term originated in late 20th century Chicago speech, possibly from urban planning or community gardening circles, but has remained a local, somewhat insider term rather than widespread slang.
Examples
They played soccer on the prairie behind our building.
