Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Chiefly Western U.S. A hill that rises abruptly from the surrounding area and has sloping sides and a flat top.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A detached low mountain, or high rising abruptly from the general level of the surrounding plain; -- applied to peculiar elevations in the Rocky Mountain region.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a hill that rises abruptly from the surrounding region; has a flat top and sloping sides
- n. a town in southwestern Montana; center for mining copper
Etymologies
- French, from Old French butt, mound behind targets; see butt3.
Examples
“The butte is the only tall outcropping for several miles, so climbing it permits one to survey a very broad area.”
“The butte was a holy place; men came there seeking visions.”
“The butte was a strong point that the Council of Masters would very much like to take back.”
The Flood
“Beyond the summit of the butte was a greenish-brown plateau of sagebrush and bunch-grass.”
“The level below the butte was a-buzz with life and energy.”
“Georgian chief had, in the good old days of independence, built a massive castle, and nestling beneath its protecting shadow around the base of the butte is the town, a picturesque town of adobe and wattle walls and quaint red tiles.”
Around the World on a Bicycle - Volume II From Teheran To Yokohama
“We arrived just in time for meridian observation, and carried the barometer to the summit of the butte, which is 500 feet above the lake.”
“Above the butte is another deep canon, through which the river has cleft its way.”
“The day I was up there (a butte is a hill) they were celebrating the Commune which was an uprising in 1871 by the workers of Paris who were against Napoleon III and then who fought against the invading Prussians and Germans.”
“In the distance there is an extraordinary "butte" or isolated hill, Gunong Pondok, a landmark for the whole region, and on the right to the east a grand mountain range, the highest peak of which cannot fall far short of eight thousand feet; and the blue-green ranges showing the foam of at least one waterfall almost helped one to be cool.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘butte’.
-
Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
-
This list is like butter
peanut butter, almond butter, butter of antimony, mineral butter, butter of arsenic, soy nut butter, apple butter, cocoa butter, butter bean, butter clam, butterfly, cacao butter and 72 more...
-
Words in which "u" is pronounced "yu"
cute, uniform, puny, municipal, butte, fume, perfume, puke, cucumber, huge, demure, cube and 56 more...
-
joe1901's list
Words
fbharjo Pedernal (Agate) Butte, more commonly known as Cerro Pedernal, near Tsiping on the north side of the Jemez is a butte made famous by Georgia O'Keefe's paintings. Nov 13, 2010
fbharjo Tempe Butte is the site of "A" mountain near the campus of ASU (Arizona State University) in Phoenix. Nov 13, 2010
fbharjo Hayrick Butte in Oregon is an example of a tuya volcano that erupts under a glacier. Nov 13, 2010
fbharjo Fajada (banded) Butte in Chaco Canyon has gained prominence since the rediscovery of the 'sun dagger' seasonal calendar several decades ago Nov 13, 2010
hernesheir As skiing season approaches, "Crested Mesa" Colorado just doesn't ring true. Nov 13, 2010
fbharjo What about Elephant Butte, New Mexico? Or should the question be tabled?
Mesa Verde is in Colorado.
And there are Mesa, Mesilla, and Mesita in New Mexico.
Also in New Mexico, there are Mesa Chivato (oh you kid! (goat)), Mesa Montosa (are we out of the woods?), Mesa Poleo (false pennyroyal herb),Mesa Prieta, Mesa Redonda (when we get round to it), and Mesa Rica ( a gold carrying group of 49ers was caught in a massacre there). There are a mess of mesas! (not to mention a bunch of buttes.) Nov 12, 2010
hernesheir Butte, Montana is a misaplied mistranslation and should be renamed, as should the 12th century Acoma Pueblo that sits atop the Acoma Mesa in New Mexico, if the previous comment is to be accepted. Nov 12, 2010
thtownse Mesas are only found in Spain, whereas buttes are found in France and possibly Canada. Nov 12, 2010
yarb Ha ha! Nov 12, 2010
ruzuzu I can't believe it's not butter. Nov 12, 2010
seanahan A mesa has a clifflike side. Otherwise, the only difference is mesa is Spanish and butte is French. Sep 23, 2008
bilby My mesa doesn't look so big in jeans. Sep 22, 2008
tbtabby What's the difference between a butte and a mesa? Sep 22, 2008