Sierra Madre

American  

[see-er-uh mah-drey, syer-rah mah-thre] / siˈɛr ə ˈmɑ dreɪ, ˈsyɛr rɑ ˈmɑ ðrɛ /

noun

1. a mountain range extending from S Wyoming into N Colorado.

2. two parallel mountain chains in Mexico, bordering the central plateau on the E and W, and extending SE into N Guatemala.

3. a town in S California.

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Sierra Madre British  

/ ˈsjɛrra ˈmaðre /

noun

1. (functioning as singular) the main mountain system of Mexico, extending for 2500 km (1500 miles) southeast from the N border: consists of the Sierra Madre Oriental in the east, the Sierra Madre Occidental in the west, and the Sierra Madre del Sur in the south. Highest peak: Citlaltépetl, 5636 m (18 492 ft) (disputed)

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Example Sentences

The Sierra Madre Police Department said the 53-year-old man passed away after experiencing a medical emergency on the trail, and that no foul play was suspected.

From Los Angeles Times • May 9, 2026

The reef is home to a small Philippine military outpost aboard the BRP Sierra Madre, a rusting World War Two-era ship deliberately grounded there in 1999 to assert Manila's claim to the territory.

From BBC • Apr. 13, 2026

Mr. Enrigue follows both groups on their hazardous journeys into the Sierra Madre, and the writing, translated by Natasha Wimmer, yields all the pleasures of a first-rate adventure with none of the sentimentality.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026

The two had a romance in the postcard-perfect city, where high-rise condos climb hillsides as fishing boats bob off the coast—all framed by the Sierra Madre mountains.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 23, 2026

The Sierra Madre mountains are so stark and impossibly tall that they fill me with an inexplicable panic.

From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez