Sierra Meaning
/siˈɛɹə/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA rugged range of mountains.
nounAlternative letter-case form of Sierra from the NATO/ICAO Phonetic Alphabet.
Sentence Examples
John Muir was a famous naturalist who founded the Sierra Club.
What's the minimum salary in Sierra Leone?
Sierra Leone has been a source of and destination for refugees.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The hikers climbed through the rugged ____ to reach the high mountain peak.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The majestic mountain ____ was covered in a thick blanket of snow that sparkled in the winter sunlight.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from Spanish sierra, from Latin serra (“saw”), referring to the saw-tooth profile of the crestline of the range seen from a distance.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Mancha selecto is the world's best saffron: deep-red stamens, as long as the first joint of your thumb, packed and date-stamped. Lesser types, like sierra saffron, have shorter stamens and a quantity of white and yellow flower parts."
— 2005, Karen Anand, International Cooking With Karen Anand, page 77:
"Most flocks in the Sierra and the Rocky Mountains live above the timber-line and at an altitude of twelve thousand feet."
— 1915 April 26, Enos A. Mills, “Wild Mountain Sheep”, in The Rocky Mountain Wonderland, Houghton Mifflin, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 37:
"Los Angeles would still be a piddling little town in a desert if it weren’t for Sierra snowmelt and city officials crafty enough to snooker eastern California farmers out of their water rights."
— 2023 August 6, Daniel Duane, “It’s August. Californians Are Still Skiing. Don’t Ask.”, in The New York Times:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The hikers climbed through the rugged ____ to reach the high mountain peak.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The majestic mountain ____ was covered in a thick blanket of snow that sparkled in the winter sunlight.