sierra

1 of 2

noun

si·​er·​ra sē-ˈer-ə 

1

a

: a range of mountains especially with a serrated or irregular outline

b

: the country about a sierra

2

: a large scombroid fish (Scomberomorus sierra) related to the mackerel

Sierra

2 of 2

communications code word

—used as a code word for the letter s

Examples of sierra in a Sentence

Noun

The Sierra Nevada is a mountain range in California.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Facial moles like cacti in the sierra, front-tooth gaps like keyhole nebulae. —Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 14 Nov. 2022

Web cams pointed at Yosemite Valley’s famous granite features, including Half Dome and El Capitan, showed the high sierra landscape completely smoked out, with terrible visibility, on Thursday afternoon. —Gregory Thomas, SFChronicle.com, 17 Sep. 2020

Then a couple of years later, in 1984, two American anthropologists—including Stephen Athens, a rising star in the archaeology of Ecuador’s northern sierra—showed up. —Naomi Renee Cohen, Slate Magazine, 15 May 2017

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Spanish, literally, saw, from Latin serra

First Known Use

Noun

1600, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Communications Code Word

1952, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

sierra

noun

si·​er·​ra sē-ˈer-ə 

: a range of mountains especially with jagged peaks

Etymology

Noun

from Spanish sierra "a range of jagged mountains," literally, "a saw," from Latin serra "a saw" — related to serrated