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

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

Twice approved by the Pittsburg City Council, the Discovery Builders’ Faria project proposes to build some 1,500 homes in the hills southwest of Pittsburg overlooking Thurgood Marshall Regional Park in Concord, where the former Naval Weapons Station was once located. —Judith Prieve, The Mercury News, 9 Apr. 2024

Along the hills around the lake, the sky turned the orange-yellow of sunset in every direction at the same time. —USA TODAY, 8 Apr. 2024

Snow Mountain Ranch, about a 20-minute drive away, has one of the only summertime tubing hills in the United States, as well as miniature golf, archery, and a climbing wall to keep everyone busy. —Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 7 Apr. 2024

Dickie has a glorious and airy villa in the hills — lots of steps — overlooking the sea. —Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Apr. 2024

And amid a coronavirus lockdown in March 2020, residents of Llandudno in Wales spotted herds of goats roaming the streets, after more than a dozen of the animals ventured down from the hill above the town. —Amarachi Orie, CNN, 4 Apr. 2024

This fast-growing, easy-to-care-for vine can climb a trellis, spill over a retaining wall, or be used as ground cover on a bank or hill. —Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 4 Apr. 2024

The building's stone foundations were quarried from the hills around town and the brick was fired in nearby Cottonwood. —The Arizona Republic, 30 Mar. 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

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

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