mesa
[ mey-suh ]
/ ˈmeɪ sə /
noun
a land formation, less extensive than a plateau, having steep walls and a relatively flat top and common in arid and semiarid parts of the southwestern U.S. and Mexico.
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Origin of mesa
1750–60, Americanism; < Spanish: table < Latin mēnsa
Definition for mesa (2 of 3)
Mesa
[ mey-suh ]
/ ˈmeɪ sə /
noun
a city in central Arizona, near Phoenix.
Definition for mesa (3 of 3)
La Mesa
[ lah mey-suh ]
/ lɑ ˈmeɪ sə /
noun
a city in SW California.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for mesa
British Dictionary definitions for mesa
mesa
/ (ˈmeɪsə) /
noun
a flat tableland with steep edges, common in the southwestern US
Word Origin for mesa
from Spanish: table
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 mesa
mesa
"high table land," 1759, from Spanish mesa "plateau," literally "table," from Latin mensa "table" (source of Rumanian masa, Old French moise "table").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Science definitions for mesa
mesa
[ mā′sə ]
An area of high land with a flat top and two or more steep, clifflike sides. Mesas are larger than buttes and smaller than plateaus, and are common in the southwest United States.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.