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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Recent Examples of butte
The southern end of the park is known for its high concentration of petrified wood, but the northern end has jaw-dropping views of the Painted Desert, the colorful expanse of hills, buttes, and mesas in Arizona’s high desert.
—
Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 6 Sep. 2025
No eyes, no nose, just a butte with shadows.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 4 Sep. 2025
Grab a site at the BLM’s White House Campground, which views a cluster of sand-white buttes ($12 per site, first come/first serve).
—Graham Averill, Outside Online, 19 Feb. 2025
Their conclusion from this is that the mesas and buttes are the remains of what was once a far larger plateau, which was largely eroded away on the side facing the northern basin.
—John Timmer, Ars Technica, 20 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for butte
Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 6 Sep. 2025
No eyes, no nose, just a butte with shadows.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 4 Sep. 2025
Grab a site at the BLM’s White House Campground, which views a cluster of sand-white buttes ($12 per site, first come/first serve).
—Graham Averill, Outside Online, 19 Feb. 2025
Their conclusion from this is that the mesas and buttes are the remains of what was once a far larger plateau, which was largely eroded away on the side facing the northern basin.
—John Timmer, Ars Technica, 20 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for butte
Recent Examples of Synonyms for butte
Noun
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The coastline offers crystal-clear waters, coral reefs and rugged mountains, while Aqaba Castle and the old seaport offer authentic historical textures.—
Rafa Sales Ross,
Variety,
10 Nov. 2025
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The season begins in October and peaks in early December in the mountains, the state says.—
Mark Price,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Construction fell off a cliff after the housing bubble burst over a decade ago and never really recovered.—
Andrea Riquier,
USA Today,
9 Nov. 2025
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In Zumaia, Ermita de San Telmo, an iconic stop on the Camino de Santiago, is a 16th-century church perched on the rocky Flysch cliffs made famous in Game of Thrones.—
Michelle Arellano Martin,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Continue west to Acoma Pueblo’s Sky City crowning a 367-foot-tall mesa.—
Kit Bernardi,
USA Today,
31 Oct. 2025
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Instead, tribal members have relied on a single power line that runs roughly 30 miles east and west across high desert punctuated by three distinctive mesas, home to 12 distinct villages, including some of the oldest inhabited communities in the United States.—
Nate Perez,
NPR,
7 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Lake Nyos, an extremely deep lake in the volcanic highlands of northwest Cameroon, was in the second category.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Oct. 2025
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With establishing shots of the majestic Armenian highlands, the documentary makes a concerted effort to trace the deep-rooted mythos of this ancestral land before delving into its subjects.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Denise’s family was out on a foothill in a large, modern ranch house.—
Rachel Kushner,
New Yorker,
14 Sep. 2025
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The Shooting The shooting began shortly after 12:30 p.m. at Evergreen High School, about 30 miles west of Denver in the foothills of Jefferson County.—
Robert Alexander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Huge oil companies including Exxon and Chevron have plowed in, seeing dollar signs in South America’s deep oceans and shale fields just as the US shale boom starts to plateau.—
Laura Paddison,
CNN Money,
10 Nov. 2025
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The study showed that the benefits of exercise do plateau, so after about 5,000 to 7,500 steps a day, the slowing of decline leveled off.—
Alice Park,
Time,
3 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Butte.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/butte. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.
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