Definition of "steppe"

steppe

/stɛp/

noun
countable and uncountable, plural steppes
1. The grasslands of Eastern Europe and Asia. Similar to (North American) prairie and (African) savanna.
  Quotations
  Nevertheless be it remarked, that even a Russian steppe has tumuli and gold ornaments […]
  1831, Thomas Carlyle, “Preliminary”, in Sartor Resartus: The Life and Opinions of Herr Teufelsdröckh. […], London: Chapman and Hall, […], book first, page 3
  Enkidu was the hairy man of the wild steppes, and Gilgamesh was the hero of civilization; but now the contrast is between Gilgamesh, the king, the man of political power, the heroic man of action, the extrovert, and Utnapishtim, the man of religious authority, the introvert, the sage.
  1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 187
2. A vast, cold, dry grass-plain.
  Quotations
  Grasslands: The Steppe biome is a dry, cold, grassland that is found in all of the continents except Australia and Antarctica. It is mostly found in the USA, Mongolia, Siberia, Tibet and China. There isn't much humidity in the air because Steppe is located away from the ocean and close to mountain barriers.
  2000, Mary Elizabeth v. N., “Steppe”, in Blue Planet Biomes‎, West Tisbury Elementary School