mesa

noun

me·​sa ˈmā-sə 

: an isolated relatively flat-topped natural elevation usually more extensive than a butte and less extensive than a plateau

also : a broad terrace with an abrupt slope on one side : bench

Synonyms

• plateau
• highland
• tableland

Examples of mesa in a Sentence

a mesa in the Arizona desert

Recent Examples on the Web

These pinnacles are surrounded by miles of windblown sand and bordered by mesas and buttes. —Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 21 Apr. 2025

On the mesa, flames leaped from one 4,000-square-foot home to the next. —Robert Petkoff Krish Seenivasan Quinton Kamara, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025

As well as a nitrogen-rich atmosphere, rain, lakes and oceans of liquid methane, shorelines, valleys, mountain ridges, icy boulders, mesas and dunes, Titan also hosts weird prebiotic chemistry that could be the building blocks of life itself. —Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 19 Apr. 2025

Less than an hour later, Adams and Bailey were leading us all across a mesa top to witness the moment that sunlight hit Fajada Butte. —Kevin West, Travel + Leisure, 14 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Spanish, literally, table, from Latin mensa

First Known Use

1840, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

mesa

noun

me·​sa ˈmā-sə 

: a flat-topped hill or small plateau with steep sides

Etymology

Spanish, literally, "table"

Geographical Definition

Mesa

geographical name

Me·​sa ˈmā-sə 

city east of Phoenix in southwest central Arizona population 439,041