playa
Americannoun
noun
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A dry lake bed at the bottom of a desert basin, sometimes temporarily covered with water. Playas have no vegetation and are among the flattest geographical features in the world.
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Also called sink
Etymology
Origin of playa
1850–55, < Spanish: shore < Late Latin plagia; see plage
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Their analysis shows that the basement beneath the playa is relatively shallow, less than 200 meters deep, before dropping sharply to depths of 3 to 4 kilometers.
From Science Daily • Mar. 21, 2026
They use playa names, such as cactus or fuzzypants, making possible suspects hard to identify.
From Salon • Oct. 27, 2025
The Mayan Warrior was back on the playa by 2024, looking flashier than ever — and it ought to, considering it cost nearly $3 million.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 23, 2025
Researchers have linked the dust that blows off the playa to the region’s abnormally high rates of childhood asthma.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 16, 2024
In my mind, I heard Big Boi sing: I’m just a playa like that, my jeans was sharply creased.
From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
