1. areas of land that are not fertile and cannot support much plant life
Usage: usually plural

Examples

• The explorers crossed miles of rocky barrens before finding water.
• Few animals can survive in the harsh barrens of the Arctic tundra.
• The drought turned the once-green fields into dusty barrens.
• Pine barrens are ecosystems with sandy soil and sparse vegetation.
• The mining operation left behind scarred barrens where nothing would grow.
• Caribou migrate across the northern barrens in search of food.