as in cliffs
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 buttes
The kitchen turns out whimsical bar food, like Mexican pizza, and wall art depicts the buttes and cacti of the Seussian desert.
—
Chris Malloy, Bon Appetit Magazine, 14 Apr. 2026
Take in jaw-dropping views of the Painted Desert, a colorful expanse of hills, buttes, and mesas.
—Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 4 Apr. 2026
Alaska runs along a ridge just outside of Arches National Park, offering long-range views of the park’s towers and buttes across the Salt Valley.
—Graham Averill, Outside, 28 Mar. 2026
As Arizona yielded to New Mexico, the dirt seemed to get redder and the ridges rose to form buttes.
—Tribune News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026
Within minutes, guests can be standing beneath the stone arches of Arches National Park, 4 miles away, or surveying mesas and buttes in Canyonlands National Park, 30 miles southwest, where the Colorado and Green rivers have carved the landscape for centuries.
—Cari Shane, USA Today, 15 Oct. 2025
Enchantment's accommodations include casitas and suites, with designs and decor inspired by the Southwest desert landscape and views of Sedona's red rock buttes.
—Michael Salerno, AZCentral.com, 9 Oct. 2025
Chris Malloy, Bon Appetit Magazine, 14 Apr. 2026
Take in jaw-dropping views of the Painted Desert, a colorful expanse of hills, buttes, and mesas.
—Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 4 Apr. 2026
Alaska runs along a ridge just outside of Arches National Park, offering long-range views of the park’s towers and buttes across the Salt Valley.
—Graham Averill, Outside, 28 Mar. 2026
As Arizona yielded to New Mexico, the dirt seemed to get redder and the ridges rose to form buttes.
—Tribune News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026
Within minutes, guests can be standing beneath the stone arches of Arches National Park, 4 miles away, or surveying mesas and buttes in Canyonlands National Park, 30 miles southwest, where the Colorado and Green rivers have carved the landscape for centuries.
—Cari Shane, USA Today, 15 Oct. 2025
Enchantment's accommodations include casitas and suites, with designs and decor inspired by the Southwest desert landscape and views of Sedona's red rock buttes.
—Michael Salerno, AZCentral.com, 9 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for buttes
Noun
-
Several storms and a brutal Winter ate away at the dunes, which left behind steep cliffs.—
Ryan Hughes,
CBS News,
1 May 2026
-
This has been a story of unforeseen incidents, such as the unnoticed approach of the storm and the capsizing in front of high cliffs that prevented us from swimming ashore before the cold water had weakened us.—
Jim Hoagland,
Outdoor Life,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Donations often land in mountains of waste, contributing to plastic leakage in other countries.—
Angela Velasquez,
Footwear News,
27 Apr. 2026
-
From Atlantic beaches to Western mountains to central metropolises, there’s a destination suited to every type of traveler.—
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Take in jaw-dropping views of the Painted Desert, a colorful expanse of hills, buttes, and mesas.—
Lydia Mansel,
Travel + Leisure,
4 Apr. 2026
-
Tectonic movement has shaped San Diego County into a rough collection of valleys, foothills, urban canyons and mesas.—
The San Diego Union Tribune,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
14 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Similarly, crew members also took field trips to such locations as the Kamestastin Impact Crater in Labrador, Canada and the Icelandic highlands.—
Leonard David,
Space.com,
6 Apr. 2026
-
Armed with lessons learned from a painful past, women put up a quiet but resilient fight to preserve the dignity of their lives and home in the breathtaking Montenegrin highlands.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
In the middle distance is a human settlement, then a band of golden grasslands, then the arid lower slopes of the Cordilleras, and finally the snowy peaks, including the grand dome of Chimborazo.—
Sebastian Smee,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
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In a medium bowl beat cream and powdered sugar with a mixer on medium- high until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight).—
Sarah Martens,
Better Homes & Gardens,
3 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Buttes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/buttes. Accessed 5 May. 2026.
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