Meaning & use
butte
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An isolated hill with steep sides and a flat top, smaller than a mesa, typically formed by erosion.
See it in a sentence
The desert landscape was dotted with striking red buttes.
Hikers climbed to the top of the butte for a panoramic view.
A note on using this word
Distinguished from a mesa mainly by size: a butte's width is roughly equal to or less than its height, while a mesa is broader and flatter.
Words with a similar meaning
mesaplateau
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