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: an isolated hill or mountain with steep or precipitous sides usually having a smaller summit area than a mesa
Examples of butte in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The towering features are similar to the buttes and mesas of Monument Valley along the Arizona-Utah border.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 26 Jan. 2025
Rather than focusing on the plateau itself, the work focuses on the neighboring lowlands, which include a large region dotted with thousands of buttes and mesas that rise roughly a kilometer above the surrounding plains.
—John Timmer, Ars Technica, 20 Jan. 2025
Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota The buttes, bluffs, and pinnacles of the North Dakota badlands make for desirable backpacking come summer.
—Erica Zazo, Outside Online, 9 Jan. 2025
Enchantment Resort Sedona, Arizona Snowbirds traveling south for winter can still catch white peaks on red-rock buttes in the high desert.
—Meira Gebel, Axios, 23 Dec. 2024
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Word History
Etymology
French, knoll, from Middle French bute
First Known Use
1805, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near butte
Cite this Entry
“Butte.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/butte. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.
Kids Definition
butte
noun
: a hill with steep sides standing in a flat area
Geographical Definition
Butte
geographical name
city in southwestern Montana on a plateau in the Rockies population 32,996
More from Merriam-Webster on butte
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for butte
Nglish: Translation of butte for Spanish Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about butte
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