butte

noun

Definition of buttenext
as in mountain
a type of hill with a flat top and steep sides that is found in the southwestern U.S. The otherworldly sandstone buttes of Monument Valley, Arizona are well worth a visit.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of butte Situated on a butte at the gateway to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, the 96,000-sq-ft (8,918-sq-m) library and museum structure practically blends into the rugged landscape. — Abhimanyu Ghoshal, New Atlas, 7 July 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 The unique red rock buttes often show up in movies, calendars and magazines. — Staff, USA Today, 8 June 2026 The 244,000-acre park features a unique landscape of eroded buttes, pinnacles and spires, and contains one of the world’s richest fossil beds. — Lauren Schuster, Charlotte Observer, 4 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for butte
Recent Examples of Synonyms for butte
  1. mountain
  2. cliff
  3. mesa
  4. highland
  5. foothill
  6. plateau
Noun
  • There's always another trophy to chase, another contract to sign, another record to break or another mountain to climb.
    — Jon Root, FOXNews.com, 13 Nov. 2026
  • Set in the vast lakes and rugged rocky mountains of Mendoza, a midlife identity tale framed by the performances of transexual actress Mariana Genesio Peña and Paulina García.
    — John Hopewell, Variety, 13 Nov. 2026
Definition of mountain
Noun
  • Employees leaving the company can also take their company MacBooks with them, and Canva is removing the one-year vesting cliff for people who joined in the past year.
    — Bilin Lin, Fortune, 6 Nov. 2026
  • The structure is carved into the pale rock, its interconnected chambers following the curves of the cliff.
    — Avantika Chaturvedi, Architectural Digest, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of cliff
Noun
  • There is Monito Island, a small mesa that protrudes from the Caribbean, and the larger Mona Island, about seven miles of rocky cliffs and sandy beaches.
    — Pedro Portal, Miami Herald, 12 Nov. 2026
  • The scenery today, red rocks and flat mesas, could pass for Utah and our hike feels like a geologic safari with Nouri pointing out rock formations that resemble elephants and camels.
    — Jen Murphy, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of mesa
Noun
  • The film, set in the magnificent highlands of Montenegro’s Sinjajevina plateau, centers on Gara and her 13-year-old daughter Nada.
    — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 30 Oct. 2026
  • The vast Puya de Raimondi forest is on your doorstep, where thousands of giant bromeliads—the largest on the planet—rise like sentinels over the highlands.
    — Luke Abrahams, Vogue, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of highland
Noun
  • Temperatures begin a cooling trend on Friday, with Moderate HeatRisk in the foothill thermal belts and in Sacramento; Minor HeatRisk elsewhere.
    — CA Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 7 Oct. 2026
  • But in Southern California’s wealthy foothill enclaves, event promoters are regularly transforming these types of regal estates into weekend party houses filled with young people who are willing to pay to enter.
    — Jazmin Alvarado, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of foothill
Noun
  • Hovering over the landscape are shiny new transmission towers linked by power cables that stretch along the plateau for as far as the eye can see.
    — Anna Coren, CBS News, 12 Nov. 2026
  • In remote ranching outposts across the treeless plateau of Chubut province, life revolves around tending flocks on steppes and shearing sheep in sheds.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of plateau

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butt
butte
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Cite this Entry

“Butte.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/butte. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

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Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about butte

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