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 2communications 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
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
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illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of
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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
Dictionary Entries Near sierra
Cite this Entry
“Sierra.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sierra. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
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