Rocky Mountains

American  

[rok-ee moun-tnz] / ˈrɒk i ˈmaʊn tnz /

plural noun

1. the chief mountain system in North America, extending from central New Mexico to northern Alaska. Highest peak, Denali, 20,300 feet (6,187 meters).

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Rocky Mountains British  

plural noun

1. the chief mountain system of W North America, extending from British Columbia to New Mexico: forms the Continental Divide. Highest peak: Mount Elbert, 4399 m (14 431 ft). Mount McKinley (6194 m (20 320 ft)), in the Alaska Range, is not strictly part of the Rocky Mountains

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Rocky Mountains Cultural  

1. Major mountain chain of western North America, running from Alaska to Mexico.

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Etymology

Origin of Rocky Mountains

First recorded in 1800–05; translation of Canadian French les Montagnes des Roches, from Cree asini˙waciya, plural of asini˙waciy, equivalent to asini˙-, combining form of asiniy “stone, rock” + waciy “mountain,” originally referring to the Canadian Rockies

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Rocky Mountains

This year, the upper portion of the river’s watershed in the Rocky Mountains had the least snow on record.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

Grandmother Sara Folger sits in the kitchen of her single-wide trailer, the Rocky Mountains looming in the distance, and remembers the Bozeman, Montana she fell in love with decades ago.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

Since his 2019 conviction in a Brooklyn federal court, El Chapo has been serving a life sentence plus 30 years in a Supermax prison high in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026

One of the most remarkable efforts at evidence synthesis I’ve come across was a Level 7 decision about a vulnerable population of woodland caribou in Canada’s Rocky Mountains.

From Slate ● Apr. 28, 2026

Everywhere we turned, the Rocky Mountains seemed to be staring at me, like a tidal wave about to crash into the city.

From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan

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