butte

noun

ˈbyüt 

: an isolated hill or mountain with steep or precipitous sides usually having a smaller summit area than a mesa

Examples of butte in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The unique red rock buttes often show up in movies, calendars and magazines. — Staff, USA Today, 8 June 2026

Towering buttes shoot out of waving prairie grasses. — Julia Sayers Gokhale, Midwest Living, 1 June 2026

Inactive volcanic buttes dot the city, providing good hill-climbing tests. — William Roberson, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2026

Today, visitors can spot wildlife like bison, bighorn sheep, prairie dogs, and black-footed ferrets among the sharply eroded buttes. — Scott Bay, Travel + Leisure, 2 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

French, knoll, from Middle French bute

First Known Use

1805, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for butte

• boot
• bruit
• brut
• brute
• chute
• coot
• cute
• flute
• fruit
• hoot
• jute
• loot

Kids Definition

butte

noun

ˈbyüt 

: a hill with steep sides standing in a flat area

Geographical Definition

Butte

geographical name

ˈbyüt 

city in southwestern Montana on a plateau in the Rockies population 32,996