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
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
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
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The cliffs formed at the end of the Ice Age thanks to glacial activity carving out the gorge.—
Joie Probst,
Midwest Living,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Here, the sun cast stark, dramatic shadows across the moon’s steep cliffs, rugged ripples and seemingly bottomless craters.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Rather than honing in on a particular animal or region, the series takes a kaleidoscopic look at life on Earth by visiting different ecosystem types, including plains, mountains, jungles, forests and the mysterious depths of the ocean.—
David Faris,
TheWeek,
13 Apr. 2026
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For years, Dean Potter stood atop the climbing world, attaining a mystique as a rebellious spirit who carved his own path up mountains and into the sky — through BASE jumping and wingsuit flying.—
Stuart Miller,
Los Angeles Times,
13 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
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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
-
The probability of lightning strikes rises as a thunderstorm approaches and peaks when the storm is directly above.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
12 Apr. 2026
-
That doesn’t mean the 77,100-acre oasis of craggy peaks, maze-like caves, and alpine lakes is any less enchanting.—
Stephanie Vermillion,
Travel + Leisure,
11 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Buttes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/buttes. Accessed 14 Apr. 2026.
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