barrens

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.

In these cases, intense grazing by urchins can strip seafloors of plant life, damaging marine habitats and creating so-called "urchin barrens."

From Science Daily • Dec. 12, 2025

But when wasting disease in effect wiped out their main predator, the sea urchins exploded in number, decimating kelp forests and transforming once-lush underwater habitats into so-called urchin barrens.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 4, 2025

Some residents said the scale of the proposal is so large that it would forever change a rural region known for its rocky coast, woodlands and blueberry barrens.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 29, 2023

The mass die-out allowed the sea urchin population to explode, and in 2021, satellite imagery showed that 95 percent of California’s kelp forests had been destroyed and replaced by carpets of sickly sea urchin barrens.

From New York Times • Dec. 5, 2022

On the fifth day, I knew I was doomed to wander in endless barrens till I died.

From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine