cordillera

[ kawr-dl-yair-uh, -air-uh, kawr-dil-er-uh ]

See synonyms for cordillera on Thesaurus.com

noun

a chain of mountains, usually the principal mountain system or mountain axis of a large landmass.

Origin of cordillera

First recorded in 1695–1705; from Spanish, derivative of cordilla, diminutive of cuerda “rope, string” (from Latin chorda ). Cordillera originally applied to the Andes Mountains in South America and later to the same mountain chain in Central America and Mexico; see origin at cord

Other words from cordillera

cor·dil·le·ran, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use cordillera in a sentence

During the wet season the vicua browses on the scanty vegetation of the Cordilleran ridges.
The Desert World | Arthur Mangin
The Tapir Pinchaca appears to be confined to the region of the Cordilleran table-lands.
The Desert World | Arthur Mangin
Mexico, unlike other Cordilleran countries, lends itself to travel in certain directions by means of roads and vehicles.
Mexico | Charles Reginald Enock

British Dictionary definitions for cordillera

cordillera

/ (ˌkɔːdɪlˈjɛərə) /

noun

a series of parallel ranges of mountains, esp in the northwestern US

Origin of cordillera

C18: from Spanish, from cordilla, literally: a little cord, from cuerda mountain range, cord

Derived forms of cordillera

cordilleran, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for cordillera

cordillera

[ kôr′dl-yâr′ə ]

A long and wide chain of mountains, especially the main mountain range of a large landmass. Cordilleras can include the valleys, basins, rivers, lakes, plains, and plateaus between parallel chains of a single mountain system, or they can consist solely of a string of connected mountain peaks.

Browse