mountain

[ moun-tn ]
See synonyms for mountain on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a natural elevation of the earth's surface rising more or less abruptly to a summit, and attaining an altitude greater than that of a hill, usually greater than 2,000 feet (610 meters).

  2. a large mass of something resembling this, as in shape or size.

  1. a huge amount: a mountain of incoming mail.

  2. (initial capital letter) a steam locomotive having a four-wheeled front truck, eight driving wheels, and a two-wheeled rear truck.

  3. Also called mountain wine .British Archaic. a sweet Malaga wine.

adjective
  1. of or relating to mountains: mountain air.

  2. living, growing, or located in the mountains: mountain people.

  1. resembling or suggesting a mountain, as in size.

Idioms about mountain

  1. make a mountain out of a molehill. molehill (def. 2).

Origin of mountain

1
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English mountaine, from Old French montaigne, from Vulgar Latin montānea (unrecorded), noun use of feminine of montāneus (unrecorded), from Latin montān(us) “mountainous” (from mont-, stem of mōns “hill, mountain” + -ānus -an) + -eus, adjective suffix

Other words from mountain

  • moun·tain·less, adjective
  • sub·moun·tain, adjective
  • un·der·moun·tain, noun

Words Nearby mountain

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

How to use mountain in a sentence

  • We had now approached closely to the foot of the mountain-ranges, and their lofty summits were high above us in mid-air.

  • The jagged top and spurs of San Jacinto mountain shone like the turrets and posterns of a citadel built of rubies.

    Ramona | Helen Hunt Jackson
  • These residents then killed the parish priest, and without arms fled for safety to the mountain ravines.

    The Philippine Islands | John Foreman
  • We came down the rest of the mountain more carefully, though still a great deal too fast.

    Glances at Europe | Horace Greeley
  • A short distance off was another ridge or spur of the mountain, widening out into almost a plateau.

    Ramona | Helen Hunt Jackson

British Dictionary definitions for mountain (1 of 2)

mountain

/ (ˈmaʊntɪn) /


noun
    • a natural upward projection of the earth's surface, higher and steeper than a hill and often having a rocky summit

    • (as modifier): mountain people; mountain scenery

    • (in combination): a mountaintop

  1. a huge heap or mass: a mountain of papers

  1. anything of great quantity or size

  2. a surplus of a commodity, esp in the European Union: the butter mountain

  3. a mountain to climb British informal a serious or considerable difficulty or obstruction to overcome

  4. make a mountain out of a molehill See molehill (def. 2)

Origin of mountain

1
C13: from Old French montaigne, from Vulgar Latin montānea (unattested) mountainous, from Latin montānus, from mons mountain

British Dictionary definitions for Mountain (2 of 2)

Mountain

/ (ˈmaʊntɪn) /


noun
  1. the Mountain an extremist faction during the French Revolution led by Danton and Robespierre

Origin of Mountain

2
C18: so called because its members sat in the highest row of seats at the National Convention Hall in 1793

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 mountain

mountain

[ mountən ]


  1. A generally massive and usually steep-sided, raised portion of the Earth's surface. Mountains can occur as single peaks or as part of a long chain. They can form through volcanic activity, by erosion, or by uplift of the continental crust when two tectonic plates collide. The Himalayas, which are the highest mountains in the world, were formed when the plate carrying the landmass of India collided with the plate carrying the landmass of China.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Other Idioms and Phrases with mountain

mountain

see if the mountain won't come to Muhammad; make a mountain out of a molehill.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.