cuesta

American  

[kwes-tuh] / ˈkwɛs tə /

noun

1. 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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cuesta British  

/ ˈkwɛstə /

noun

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

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cuesta Scientific  

/ kwĕs′tə /

1. 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.

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Etymology

Origin of cuesta

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

Example Sentences

No todo el mundo quiere gastar más dinero en arreglar el sonido de un televisor que de por sí cuesta cientos de dólares.

From New York Times • Aug. 30, 2023

The easternmost cuesta is the dissected edge of the Lorraine Plateau, which Germany owned before 1914.

From Time Magazine Archive

Another cuesta, rugged and wooded, is famous as the Argonne Forest.

From Time Magazine Archive

The fortress of Verdun protects the Cote de Meuse cuesta through which the Meuse River cuts its way to Belgium.

From Time Magazine Archive

The Mesa Verde therefore is, technically speaking, a cuesta rather than a mesa.

From Mammals of Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado by Anderson, Sydney