mesa

noun me·sa \ ˈmā-sə \

Updated on: 26 Apr 2018

Definition of mesa

: 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

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Examples of mesa in a Sentence

a mesa in the Arizona desert

Recent Examples of mesa from the Web

Lake Powell, Horseshoe Bend, some mesa or another sitting on nearly every point of the horizon.

— Popular Mechanics, "55 Things to Do Before the World Ends," 19 Apr. 2018
My grandmother had a five-inch tall plastic version of him on her mesa blanca.

— sarah betancourt, Longreads, "The Religion No One Talks About: My Search For Answers in an Old Caribbean Faith," 30 Mar. 2018
The automobile tracks, made over a wide circle of about half a mile, told how the body in its burlap wrapping had been taken to the mesa.

— sandiegouniontribune.com, "Body of girl found; hunt for fiend," 11 Mar. 2018
This craggy basalt mesa is, per its name, flat as a tabletop, but in spring vastly more beautiful, dotted with leafing-out oaks and brilliant with lupine and poppies and vernal pools that reflect the sky.

— peter fish, San Francisco Chronicle, "Road trip along Sierra Nevada’s Feather River," 16 Mar. 2018
The whole scheme, from the first, contemplated the construction of a dam in the San Diego river and a wooden flume from it, to convey the water to a suitable point for distribution in the city and on the high mesa grounds in the immediate vicinity.

— sandiegouniontribune.com, "Here comes the flume," 22 Feb. 2018
Over the past month, miles of chain-link fencing have been erected on the open mesa, blocking off individual parcels of land.

— greg moran, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Border wall prep continues but start date still secret," 25 Sep. 2017
Hike with caution on the top of the mesa — there are no guardrails, and some exposed sections are windy.

— chelsey lewis, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Quincy Bluff is a wild, remote spot for hiking in central Wisconsin," 14 Dec. 2017
Virtually all of the mesa, however, was left out of the Trump boundaries.

— jonathan thompson, Slate Magazine, "There Is Absolutely No Good Way to Explain How Trump Redrew Bears Ears’ Boundaries," 8 Dec. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mesa.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.