hill

noun \ ˈhil \

Updated on: 10 Apr 2018

Definition of hill

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

See hill defined for English-language learners

See hill defined for kids

Examples of hill in a Sentence

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.

Recent Examples of hill from the Web

Only two of the top 10 streets are in San Francisco, which is often thought of as a city of hills, and the famous Lombard Street (27% grade) doesn't crack the list.

— steve lopez, latimes.com, "On one of L.A.'s steepest streets, an app-driven frenzy of spinouts, confusion and crashes," 4 Apr. 2018
Beginning in the 1870s, children rolled their Easter eggs down a hill at the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. Seems wholesome enough.

— jillian mackenzie, Town & Country, "A Brief History of the White House Easter Egg Roll," 30 Mar. 2018
Down the hill from the gazebo, the reception is in full swing.

— peter rubin, WIRED, "What a Real Wedding in a Virtual Space Says About the Future," 27 Mar. 2018
Just down the hill from the Fairmont is the Clift hotel, which introduced bees to its 16-story-high roof in 2016.

— bailey bischoff, The Christian Science Monitor, "In San Francisco, hotels welcome bees as honored guests," 26 Mar. 2018
My gaze drifts up from the uneven, rocky path to scan the tops of the hills.

— anna hartley, chicagotribune.com, "Hiking the authentic Great Wall of China, without the tourists," 16 Mar. 2018
There are a couple of parties of walking-stick-wielding hikers starting out, and, far above them, a trio of mountain bikers speeding along the crest of the hill.

— peter fish, San Francisco Chronicle, "Best secrets of small-town Chico’s big city park," 16 Mar. 2018
Winter Olympics This was no miracle on snow, a la her .01-second victory in the super-G that left her stone-faced and unbelieving at the bottom of the hill, wondering if there had been some kind of mistake.

— eddie pells, Houston Chronicle, "Chapter 2: Ester Ledecka wins gold again, this time on a snowboard," 24 Feb. 2018
Watching at the bottom of the hill, Kildow broke into wry grin moments after Vonn crossed the finish line 0.47 seconds behind Italy’s Sofia Goggia, who won the gold.

— josh peter, USA TODAY, "Lindsey Vonn's father after her bronze medal in downhill: 'She needed to risk more'," 21 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hill.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of hill

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

hill Synonyms

Other Geology Terms

anthracite, boulder, cwm, erratic, igneous, intrusive, mesa, sedimentary, silt, swale

hill

verb

Definition of hill

transitive verb

1 : to form into a heap

2 : to draw earth around the roots or base of

—

hiller

noun

Examples of hill in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of hill from the Web

BOYS SWIMMING Nonleague TESORO 131, SAN JUAN HILLS 39 SADDLEBACK VALLEY CHR. 89, ST.

— dan albano, Orange County Register, "Swim: Tesoro boys, girls pace Thursday leaderboard," 13 Apr. 2017

First Known Use of hill

1581

hill Synonyms

Synonyms

bank, mound;

Related Words

heap, pile, pyramid, stack;

embank;

bunch, bundle, clump, lump, mass, wad;

accumulate, amass, assemble, collect, conglomerate, gather, group;

Hill

biographical name \ ˈhil \

Definition of Hill

Ambrose Powell 1825–1865 American Confederate general

Hill

biographical name

Definition of Hill

Archibald Vivian 1886–1977 English physiologist

Hill

biographical name

Definition of Hill

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

Hill

biographical name

Definition of Hill

Sir Rowland 1795–1879 English postal reformer

HILL Defined for English Language Learners

hill

noun

Definition of hill for English Language Learners

: a usually rounded area of land that is higher than the land around it but that is not as high as a mountain
: an area of sloping ground on a road, path, etc.
: a pile of something