: an isolated relatively flat-topped natural elevation usually more extensive than a butte and less extensive than a plateau
also
: a broad terrace with an abrupt slope on one side : bench
Examples of mesa in a Sentence
a mesa in the Arizona desert
Recent Examples on the Web
The town hovers high above the Española valley, on a handsome mesa called the Pajarito Plateau.
—
Abe Streep, The New Yorker, 27 Dec. 2024
Jeremiah Hight, 23, was arrested on the afternoon of Dec. 24 atop a mesa west of Oljato, Utah, by the Navajo Police Department’s K-9 Unit and the Bureau of Indian Affairs drug enforcement division, according to a statement from the Navajo Police Department.
—Nicole Acosta, People.com, 27 Dec. 2024
Jeremiah Hight, 23, was arrested Tuesday afternoon on a mesa near Oljato, Utah, within the Navajo Nation reservation, according to Navajo police on Thursday.
—Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 26 Dec. 2024
Photograph: Backcountry Deuter Kid Comfort Active Carrier for $203 ($67 off)
Backcountry
My kid started his hiking career in this pack, which carried him from the mountains of Colorado to the hot barren mesas of Chaco Canyon.
—Scott Gilbertson, WIRED, 30 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mesa 
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Abe Streep, The New Yorker, 27 Dec. 2024
Jeremiah Hight, 23, was arrested on the afternoon of Dec. 24 atop a mesa west of Oljato, Utah, by the Navajo Police Department’s K-9 Unit and the Bureau of Indian Affairs drug enforcement division, according to a statement from the Navajo Police Department.
—Nicole Acosta, People.com, 27 Dec. 2024
Jeremiah Hight, 23, was arrested Tuesday afternoon on a mesa near Oljato, Utah, within the Navajo Nation reservation, according to Navajo police on Thursday.
—Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 26 Dec. 2024
Photograph: Backcountry Deuter Kid Comfort Active Carrier for $203 ($67 off)
Backcountry
My kid started his hiking career in this pack, which carried him from the mountains of Colorado to the hot barren mesas of Chaco Canyon.
—Scott Gilbertson, WIRED, 30 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mesa
Dictionary Entries Near mesa
Cite this Entry
“Mesa.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mesa. Accessed 15 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
mesa
noun
me·sa
ˈmā-sə 
: a flat-topped hill or small plateau with steep sides
Etymology
Spanish, literally, "table"
Geographical Definition
Mesa
geographical name
Me·sa
ˈmā-sə
city east of Phoenix in southwest central Arizona population 439,041
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