Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
About a mile north of Hereford High School on York Road is a grassy knoll rolling down to the Gunpowder River.—Carl R. Gold, Baltimore Sun, 18 June 2026 Dick had just swung around me when a grizzly bear walked out from behind a knoll.—Dolores Brown, Outdoor Life, 17 June 2026 Would that every schoolchild could stand on the grassy knoll for a quiet minute, pondering the imponderables.—Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 26 May 2026 Perched on a grassy knoll on the edge of downtown, The Inn sits comfortably away from bustling Main Street while maintaining easy walking distance to all of Berlin’s shops, restaurants, and galleries.—Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 14 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for knoll
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English knol, from Old English cnoll; akin to Old Norse knollr mountaintop
Verb
Middle English, probably alteration of knellen to knell
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above