butte

noun

Definition of buttenext
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.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of butte Today, visitors can spot wildlife like bison, bighorn sheep, prairie dogs, and black-footed ferrets among the sharply eroded buttes. — Scott Bay, Travel + Leisure, 2 July 2026 The unique red rock buttes often show up in movies, calendars and magazines. — Staff, USA Today, 8 June 2026 The 244,000-acre park features a unique landscape of eroded buttes, pinnacles and spires, and contains one of the world’s richest fossil beds. — Lauren Schuster, Charlotte Observer, 4 May 2026 Inactive volcanic buttes dot the city, providing good hill-climbing tests. — William Roberson, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for butte
Recent Examples of Synonyms for butte
  1. mountain
  2. cliff
  3. mesa
  4. highland
  5. foothill
  6. plateau
Noun
  • The Chinese state news agency Xinhua, citing the country’s water resources ministry, said a new lake formed after Wednesday’s floods high in the mountains had largely drained.
    — Victoria Milko, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Some thirty thousand tourists visited annually to soak in the mountain’s mineral springs and sip from a geyser of warm fizzy water.
    — Laura Preston, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of mountain
Noun
  • That income limit is a cliff — earning a dollar over the limit generally means paying the full, unsubsidized premium.
    — Sarah Agostino, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Both are protected areas with stunning beaches, dramatic cliffs, and unique wildlife, like dolphins and flamingos.
    — Kathleen Peddicord, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of cliff
Noun
  • Los Alamos, not far from Santa Fe, sits at the foot of Pajarito Mountain in a land of canyons and mesas.
    — Daniel de Visé, USA Today, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Beginning in the late 1960s, artists abandoned galleries in favour of deserts, salt flats, mesas, and remote terrain, using these surroundings as both setting and material.
    — Lara Johnson-Wheeler, Vogue, 3 July 2026
Definition of mesa
Noun
  • Rather than following the Ring Road, a 4x4 safari ventures deep into the highlands and across isolated farmlands.
    — Gwen Nicol, Travel + Leisure, 29 Aug. 2026
  • My walk took me over the peaks and ridges of the Eastern highlands, on a narrow footpath that rose and fell thousands of feet in the course of an average day.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of highland
Noun
  • But in Southern California’s wealthy foothill enclaves, event promoters are regularly transforming these types of regal estates into weekend party houses filled with young people who are willing to pay to enter.
    — Jazmin Alvarado, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Go wine tasting right in town, or do your research and drive the Nevada County foothill roads to a few local wineries with pretty tasting rooms.
    — Chelsee Lowe, Travel + Leisure, 1 July 2026
Definition of foothill
Noun
  • For instance, it’s been rumored by Fixed Focus Digital that camera upgrades may lead to a thicker camera plateau.
    — David Phelan, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026
  • After returning home, Cheogyal restarted his life and education in his home county Drago (Luhuo in Chinese), located in the rolling grasslands and mountains of a Tibetan region of Sichuan, on the southeastern corner of the Tibet-Qinghai plateau.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of plateau

Browse Nearby Words

butt
butte
butted
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Butte.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/butte. Accessed 3 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on butte

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about butte

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All