MESA

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Mesa mean? 

• MESA (noun)
  The noun MESA has 2 senses:

1. flat tableland with steep edges

2. a city in Arizona just to the east of Phoenix; originally a suburb of Phoenix

  Familiarity information: MESA used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MESA (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Flat tableland with steep edges

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Synonyms:

mesa; table

Context example:

the tribe was relatively safe on the mesa but they had to descend into the valley for water

Hypernyms ("mesa" is a kind of...):

plateau; tableland (a relatively flat highland)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A city in Arizona just to the east of Phoenix; originally a suburb of Phoenix

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Instance hypernyms:

city; metropolis; urban center (a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts)

Holonyms ("Mesa" is a part of...):

Arizona; AZ; Grand Canyon State (a state in southwestern United States; site of the Grand Canyon)

 Context examples 

The cliffs break up into isolated mesas in several places.

(What’s Eating at Pluto?, NASA)

The Martian buttes and mesas rising above the surface are eroded remnants of ancient sandstone that originated when winds deposited sand after lower Mount Sharp had formed.

(Mars Rover Views Spectacular Layered Rock Formations, NASA)

The new radar measurements confirm earlier findings that the lakes are far above sea level, but they conjure a new image of landforms - like mesas or buttes - sticking hundreds of feet above the surrounding landscape, with deep liquid lakes on top.

(Cassini Reveals Surprises with Titan's Lakes, NASA)