butte

IPA/bjuːt/
KK[bjˈut]IPA/bjuːt/

butte — noun

  • buttesingular
  • buttesplural

1. a hill whose sides rise steeply from the flat land around it and whose top is fl

1.名詞B2
釋義

a hill whose sides rise steeply from the flat land around it and whose top is flat and level, formed in dry desert regions when wind and water wear away the softer rock surrounding a hard rock layer

例句

Jack pointed at the red butte and asked if they could hike to its flat top.

collocation: red butte / rising from the desert floor

From the car, we saw three buttes standing in a row, their flat tops glowing orange in the sunset.

plural form: buttes + [number]

同義詞
  • mesa

    larger and wider than a butte, with the same flat top and steep sides

  • tableland

    more general term for any flat-topped elevated area; less specific than butte

  • rock formation

    broader term for any natural arrangement of rock, not limited to flat tops

反義詞
  • valley

    low-lying land between hills or mountains, opposite of an elevated butte

  • canyon

    a deep, narrow valley with steep sides, cut into the land rather than rising above it

文法句型

[countable] a + butte

用法筆記

Distinguish from mesa, which has the same flat-topped, steep-sided shape but covers a much larger area. Butte is used mainly in written descriptions of desert landscapes rather than in everyday conversation.

常見錯誤

❌We climbed a butte in the forest near Taipei.
✅We climbed a butte in the desert of Arizona.
💡Buttes form in dry, arid regions, not in forested areas.
❌The butte had a pointed peak like a mountain.
✅The butte had a flat, table-like top.
💡A butte is defined by its flat top, not a pointed peak.