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butte

[ byoot ]
/ byut /
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR butte ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Western U.S. and Canada.

an isolated hill or mountain rising abruptly above the surrounding land.

RELATED WORDS

ridge, dune, promontory, bluff, cliff, hilltop, elevation, pile, peak, sierra, volcano, slope, hillside, highland, acclivity, incline, prominence, hillock, mount, rise

Nearby words

  1. butt weld,
  2. butt-dial,
  3. butt-fuck,
  4. butt-fucker,
  5. buttals,
  6. butter,
  7. butter bean,
  8. butter brickle,
  9. butter clam,
  10. butter cookie

Origin of butte

1650–60, Americanism; < North American French; French: low hill, mound, Old French: landmark, target, apparently feminine derivative of but butt2
Can be confusedbeaut butte Butte

Butte

[ byoot ]
/ byut /

noun

a city in SW Montana: mining center.
Can be confusedbeaut butte Butte
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for butte

British Dictionary definitions for butte

butte

/ (bjuːt) /

noun

Western US and Canadian an isolated steep-sided flat-topped hill

Word Origin for butte

C19: from French, from Old French bute mound behind a target, from but target; see butt ²
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for butte

butte

n.

1805, American English, from French butte, from Old French but "mound, knoll" (see butt (n.3)). A French word introduced in Lewis & Clark's journals.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Science definitions for butte

butte

[ byōōt ]

A steep-sided hill with a flat top, often standing alone in an otherwise flat area. A butte is smaller than a mesa.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.