Butte

//ˈbjuːt// name, noun

name, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An isolated hill with steep sides and a flat top. US

    "Those multitoned buttes and mesas [of the Grand Canyon], and that incandescent sequence of colorful bands that make one of the natural wonders of the world so grand, can also be found over 100 million miles away [on Mars]."

  2. 2
    a hill that rises abruptly from the surrounding region; has a flat top and sloping sides wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname. countable
  2. 2
    A placename; A census-designated place in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, United States. countable, uncountable
  3. 3
    A placename; A city, the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States, with which it is a consolidated city-county known as Butte-Silver Bow. countable, uncountable
  4. 4
    A placename; A village, the county seat of Boyd County, Nebraska, United States. countable, uncountable
  5. 5
    A placename; A city and village in McLean County, North Dakota, United States. countable, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms
anthillbarrowbraedowndrumlindune

Example

More examples

"We hiked up a butte surrounded by grass. It was so flat up there that we were able to walk around and get a good 360 view of the area."

Etymology

Etymology 1

PIE word *bʰudʰmḗn Borrowed from French butte (“mound”). Related to butt via a West Germanic cognate.

Etymology 2

Perhaps a variant spelling of Butt.

Related phrases

Box Butte CountyButte CountyButte CreekButte Creek CanyonButte FallsButte MeadowsButte ValleyCrested ButteHart ButteLone ButteMount Crested ButteNipple Butte

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.