sierra
noun
a chain of hills or mountains, the peaks of which suggest the teeth of a saw.
sierra
American
[see-er-uh]
/ siˈɛr ə /
noun
-
sierras
plural
-
a chain of hills or mountains, the peaks of which suggest the teeth of a saw.
-
any of several Spanish mackerels of the genus Scomberomorus, especially S. sierra, found in western North America.
-
a word used in communications to represent the letter S.
Sierra
1
British
/ sɪˈɛərə /
noun
sierra
2
British
/ sɪˈɛərə /
noun
sierra
Scientific
/ sē-ĕr′ə /
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of sierra
1590–1600; < Spanish: literally, saw < Latin serra
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In this recipe, which is adapted from “The Food of Oaxaca,” chef and author Alejandro Ruiz recommends sierra or mahi-mahi, which are caught off the coast of Puerto Escondido in Oaxaca.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 26, 2021
I bypassed Juchitán, circumvented Tehuantepec and entered the hills, climbing back into the sierra, sun-dried, dust-blown and arid — the biscuit-brown, baked-looking mountains of upland Oaxaca.
From New York Times ● Sep. 23, 2019
The sierra and Gran Parque Natural Topes de Collantes, where you’ll find the Caburní waterfall, are a popular day trip from Trinidad, though most people head to Parque el Cubano, which borders Trinidad.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 24, 2018
Numb to greatness, a humdrum appreciation comes with his sierra of staggering statistics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2018
The osero, accompanied only by his dogs, seeks the bear amidst the recesses of the sierra, and engages him in single combat.
From Wild Spain (Espa?a agreste) Records of Sport with Rifle, Rod, and Gun, Natural History Exploration by Walter J. Buck
Unseasonably warm temperatures and scant snowfall across the American West left powder-seekers disappointed from the Rockies to the Sierra Nevada.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
Varela lives in Payahuunadü, the Owens Valley, in the Eastern Sierra, more than 200 miles north of Los Angeles.
From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2026
GM plans to launch revamped models of the 2027 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks in the upcoming stretch.
From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026
Last quarter, the company shut down its Silao Assembly plant in Mexico for four weeks in preparation for making 2027 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 trucks there.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026
“Do you think Marjory Muldauer is going to let us even look at the four medals she won?” asked Sierra.
From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein
Currently, the western sierras are densely wooded, and that isn’t necessarily the best model for the forests to get through fires, said Thomas Scott, an expert on wildfire at the University of California, Berkeley.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 18, 2018
Our water comes from Hetch Hetchy in the sierras.
From New York Times ● Dec. 29, 2017
When the sierras received more precipitation and were frequently snow covered, this animal is believed to have occurred in the soil on the surface.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 31, 2017
He’ll be remembered as much if not more as a tragic caudillo, a reminder that revolutionaries are usually a lot less romantic when they come down from the sierras and govern.
From Time ● Nov. 26, 2016
The train clicked by the Union Stock Yards, doubly pungent in the day’s strange warmth, and skirted sierras of black coal capped with grimy melting snow.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
