hill

1 of 2

noun

ˈhil 

1

: a usually rounded natural elevation of land lower than a mountain

2

: an artificial heap or mound (as of earth)

3

: several seeds or plants planted in a group rather than a row

4

: slope, incline

hill

2 of 2

verb

hilled; hilling; hills

transitive verb

1

: to form into a heap

2

: to draw earth around the roots or base of

hiller noun

Synonyms

Noun

• cock
• heap
• mound
• mountain
• pile
• stack

Verb

• bank
• mound

Examples of hill in a Sentence

Noun

She watched the sun set behind the hills.

The house was built at the very top of the hill.

Our driveway is a long, steep hill.

He came barreling down the hill at 65 miles per hour.

The plows came and cleared the streets, forming a hill of snow on the street corner.

Verb

hilled peat moss around the rosebushes to protect them from the freeze

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Nestled between a Serbian Church and a subdivision with new homes selling for $500,000 or more, the old farm is a reminder of a time when the city had large stretches of rolling hills. —Binghui Huang, The Indianapolis Star, 22 Apr. 2024

Local police said the landslides started after torrential rain caused the surrounding hills to sink and fall onto four houses on Saturday. —Lawrence Richard, Fox News, 16 Apr. 2024

Her last district stop is her house on a hill with spectacular views of Grandfather Mountain. —Anemona Hartocollis, New York Times, 16 Apr. 2024

Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked lush hills, and a herd of life-size elk and deer models stood in the sun. —Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024

Looking out, if there are no dolphins or Caledonian MacBrayne ferries gliding across the bay, the eye is drawn to the hills of Antrim in Northern Ireland and the Mull of Kintyre on the Scottish mainland. —Angus MacKinnon, CNN, 13 Apr. 2024

Fans weren’t coming to see the stadium or the beloved hills. —Jerry McDonald, The Mercury News, 12 Apr. 2024

Bassist Laura Lee Ochoa and drummer DJ Johnson sit down with us to talk Texas, global music, and recording in a hill country barn. April 11, 2024 On Location is a column that lifts the curtain on the destinations behind the season’s most exciting new releases, from film and television to music. —Chris Ritter, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Apr. 2024

Last summer, a particularly striking Malibu residence crafted by modernist architect Ed Niles popped up for sale in the coastal hills of Ramirez Canyon with a $6.4 million price tag. —Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 10 Apr. 2024

Verb

Other aggressive turkeys are a common sight in the Oakland hills a few miles east, where some have been known to mix it up with passing bicyclists and hikers. —Steve Rubenstein, SFChronicle.com, 21 May 2020

Learn about planting times, using fertilizer and lime, and when to prune, pinch, hill up or tie up plants. —oregonlive, 28 Feb. 2020

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Old English hyll; akin to Latin collis hill, culmen top

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1581, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing hill

• a hill of beans
• hill climb
• hill mynah
• over-the-hill

Kids Definition

hill

1 of 2 noun

ˈhil 

1

: a usually rounded height of land lower than a mountain

2

: an artificial heap or mound (as of earth)

3

: several seeds or plants planted in a group rather than a row

a hill of beans

hill

2 of 2 verb

1

: to form into a heap

2

: to draw earth around the roots or base of

Biographical Definition

Hill 1 of 4

biographical name (1)

ˈhil 

Ambrose Powell 1825–1865 American Confederate general

Hill

2 of 4

biographical name (2)

Archibald Vivian 1886–1977 English physiologist

Hill

3 of 4

biographical name (3)

James Jerome 1838–1916 American (Canadian-born) financier

Hill

4 of 4

biographical name (4)

Sir Rowland 1795–1879 English postal reformer