cuesta

[ kwes-tuh ]

/ ˈkwɛs tə /

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noun

a long, low ridge with a relatively steep face or escarpment on one side and a long, gentle slope on the other.

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Origin of cuesta

1810–20, Americanism;<Spanish: shoulder, sloping land <Latin costa side (of a hill), rib; see coast

Words nearby cuesta

cueing, cueist, Cuenca, Cuernavaca, cue sheet, cuesta, Cuevas, cuff, cuff button, Cuffe, Cuffee

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cuesta in a sentence

Accordingly the Marshal was able to surprise and defeat Blake, and then to turn and inflict a similar defeat on Cuesta.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison
Blake and Cuesta were each defeated by an overwhelming combination of the different French armies.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison
Prior to the loss of these 6000 men, Cuesta's army had been 34,000 strong, with seventy guns.
Under Wellington's Command|G. A. Henty
Cuesta did not in fact signify, though it required coolness as well as ability to discern it at such a moment.
Battles of English History|H. B. (Hereford Brooke) George

It is no wonder that after his experience of Cuesta, Wellington steadily refused to combine operations with any Spanish general.
Battles of English History|H. B. (Hereford Brooke) George

British Dictionary definitions for cuesta

cuesta

/ (ˈkwɛstə) /

noun

a long low ridge with a steep scarp slope and a gentle back slope, formed by the differential erosion of strata of differing hardness

Word Origin for cuesta

Spanish: shoulder, from Latin costa side, rib

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

Scientific definitions for cuesta

cuesta

[ kwĕs′tə ]

A ridge with a gentle slope on one side and a cliff or escarpment on the other. The gentler slope is formed by the differential erosion of underlying rock, and the cliff consists of an outcrop of harder, more resistant rock.