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
In the 1840s, U.S. military officers and mass murderers Kit Carson and Gen. John C. Fremont hid out in the buttes and plotted to seize California from Mexico.
—
Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2024
Bring a tent and find a primitive site either in the prairie at the base of the buttes or tucked into the junipers.
—Graham Averill, Outside Online, 4 Mar. 2025
These pillars are denser clumps of gas and dust that the outflows haven't yet managed to erode, like how the towering buttes in the western United States have remained resolute to wind and rain erosion.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 16 Mar. 2025
The new age movement brought flocks of people to its buttes, canyons and trails.
—Amanda Luberto, The Arizona Republic, 24 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for butte
Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2024
Bring a tent and find a primitive site either in the prairie at the base of the buttes or tucked into the junipers.
—Graham Averill, Outside Online, 4 Mar. 2025
These pillars are denser clumps of gas and dust that the outflows haven't yet managed to erode, like how the towering buttes in the western United States have remained resolute to wind and rain erosion.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 16 Mar. 2025
The new age movement brought flocks of people to its buttes, canyons and trails.
—Amanda Luberto, The Arizona Republic, 24 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for butte
Recent Examples of Synonyms for butte
Noun
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The fire has scorched around 20 acres of land on the mountain, but no structures were lost, the department said.—
Miranda Jeyaretnam,
Time,
1 July 2025
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According to the zoo, the wild rodent had hitched a ride near Minturn, Colo. — a small town in the mountains outside of Aspen that is about 100 miles from Denver.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
People.com,
1 July 2025
Noun
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Hours later, a woman died in a fall from the cliff in a separate incident, sheriff’s officials told news outlets.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacbee.com,
30 June 2025
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Taken in Madagascar at the end of the dry season, the courageous lemur risks a harrowing jump from a towering cliff to another -- carrying her baby along for the ride.—
Cecilia Rodriguez,
Forbes.com,
29 June 2025
Noun
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That's clear in cities like St. George, a desert community surrounded by stunning red rock cliffs and mesas in Utah's southwest corner.—
David Condos,
NPR,
9 June 2025
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The first will remain in effect for the northern, southern and east slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the Johnson and Bartlett mesas, including Raton Pass, through Wednesday morning at 8 a.m. local time.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
26 Nov. 2024
Noun
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These included the highlands around Lake Titicaca to the north, the llama-herding plains of the Altiplano to the west and the agriculturally rich valleys of Cochabamba to the east.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 June 2025
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Nestled in the highlands of the 90,000-acre island of Lanai, this quiet escape immerses visitors in the island’s natural beauty.—
Jasmine Browley,
Essence,
20 June 2025
Noun
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The forested foothills are full of pine and fir trees and the area is a popular mountain park for hiking and biking.—
Kirk Siegler,
NPR,
30 June 2025
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This past April, Outside’s Everest columnist Ben Ayers did the 11-day hike from the town of Lukla in the Himalayan foothills to Mount Everest, and documented his journey via a series of travelogue journals, feature stories, and videos.—
Ben Ayers,
Outside Online,
30 June 2025
Noun
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Some on the Iranian plateau still practice Zoroastrianism, the world’s first monotheistic faith, and the foundation for an ancient empire that still informs Iranians’ sense of themselves.—
Karl Vick,
Time,
22 June 2025
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While Nintendo mostly conceded the corporate tug-of-war over graphical prowess back in 2006 with the Wii, the general plateau of visual enhancements over the last two generations means that games running on Switch 2 look pretty damned good even compared to more premium devices.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
5 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Butte.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/butte. Accessed 7 Jul. 2025.
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