mesa
gb/mˈeɪsə/ us/mˈeɪsə/
B2
English
~ 8200
Senses
0 senses
Noun
B2
entity
1
Flat-topped hill with steep sides
A high hill with a flat top and very steep sides, usually in a dry or desert place.
Usage pattern:
[a mesa] rises above [the surrounding land]
Common mistake:
Learners who know Spanish sometimes think 'mesa' means 'table' in English. In English, 'mesa' almost always refers only to the landform, not to furniture. It is also sometimes confused with 'plateau'; a plateau is usually larger and may not have such steep sides, while a mesa is more isolated and hill-like.
Synonyms
plateau (Usually larger and more extensive than a mesa; may refer to a whole region, not just a single landform.)
|
tableland (A more formal or literary word; often used for a wide, flat high area, not always with very steep sides like a mesa.)
Antonyms
valley (A low area of land between hills or mountains, the opposite of a high-standing mesa.)
|
canyon (A deep, narrow valley with steep sides; where a mesa rises above the land, a canyon cuts down into it.)
Collocations
flat-topped mesa
|desert mesa
|rocky mesa
|high mesa
|top of the mesa
|mesa country
Themes
geography
|nature
|environment
|space
Examples
- From the highway we could see a lone mesa rising above the desert floor.
- The hikers set up camp on top of the mesa to watch the sunset.
- Erosion over millions of years left a series of mesas and buttes across the landscape.
- The film opens with a wide shot of a red sandstone mesa under a clear blue sky.
- Ancient cliff dwellings are built into the side of the mesa.
Learner examples
- We stopped the car to take a photo of the tall mesa.
- The town is in a valley below a large mesa.
- They climbed to the top of the mesa in the morning.
- A river cut the land and left one big mesa.
- From the mesa, you can see very far.
Noun
B2
entity
2
City of Mesa in Arizona
A city in the state of Arizona in the United States, near Phoenix.
Usage pattern:
[someone] lives in Mesa
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes treat 'Mesa' like a common noun and write 'the Mesa' when they mean the city. As a city name, it is a proper noun and normally does not take 'the': you say 'I live in Mesa', not 'I live in the Mesa.'
Synonyms
Mesa, Arizona (The full proper name of the city, used to avoid confusion with other places named Mesa.)
Antonyms
Phoenix (Not a true semantic opposite, but a nearby major city that learners might confuse with Mesa; included as a contrasting place name.)
Collocations
Mesa, Arizona
|live in Mesa
|drive to Mesa
|the Mesa area
|Mesa resident
|Mesa community
Themes
geography
|travel
|space
Examples
- She grew up in Mesa but moved to Phoenix for college.
- We’re flying into Phoenix and then driving to Mesa for the conference.
- Mesa has grown rapidly as more people move to the Phoenix area.
- The baseball team holds its spring training games in Mesa, Arizona.
- Housing prices in Mesa have increased over the past decade.
Learner examples
- My aunt lives in Mesa, Arizona.
- We drove from Phoenix to Mesa in one hour.
- Many people move to Mesa for the warm weather.
- I visited a friend in Mesa last summer.
- Mesa is part of the Phoenix metro area.
Grammar
Dictionary form
mesa
IPA
GB/mˈeɪsə/
US/mˈeɪsə/
Syllables & stress
mesa (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (mesa)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: mesa
- Plural: mesas
Word family
Forms
mesas
noun
Related words
Expressions
No expressions linked to this entry yet.