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

• altiplano
• plateau
• table
• tableland

Examples of mesa in a Sentence

a mesa in the Arizona desert

Recent Examples on the Web

There’s an undeniable, palpable sense of adventure in this American Southwest region; the towering mesas (and Ford Motor Company) beckoned me to come. —Alexandra Cheney, Travel + Leisure, 20 Nov. 2023

Backcountry My son grew up in this pack, which carried him everywhere from the mountains of Colorado to the hot barren mesas of Chaco Canyon. —Scott Gilbertson, WIRED, 20 Nov. 2023

The first full gram of element 94 arrived on Los Alamos's mesas in April 1944. —Sarah Scoles, Scientific American, 14 Nov. 2023

Residents of North City West looking for a more appealing name picked Carmel Valley in 1991. Landmarks: The community’s master plan called for development only on the mesa tops, leaving the canyons untouched to provide open space and recreation. —San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Oct. 2023

Cool Arizona getaways:Mountains, lakes and a chilly cave trek to try this summer Where to see wildflowers in Flagstaff Buffalo Park: Perched atop a mesa not far from downtown Flag, Buffalo Park is a favorite of locals in all seasons. —Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 6 July 2023

In the nineteen-seventies, an Italian architect named Paolo Soleri built his own south-facing labyrinthian cliff dwelling into the side of a mesa outside Phoenix, hoping to construct a new kind of ecologically and desert-mindful city. —Carolyn Kormann, The New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2023

All said, the state agency wants to remove more than 7,000 acres of its lands from Bluff, mostly within a sandstone mesa known as Bluff Bench on the northeast part of town. —Leia Larsen, The Salt Lake Tribune, 5 Sep. 2023

One of the most spectacular instances of indoor-outdoor architecture in the Southwest can be found on a hill north of Santa Fe, New Mexico, at the edge of a rugged landscape of mountains, mesas, and arroyos. —Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2023

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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