pingo
noun
pin·go
ˈpiŋ-(ˌ)gō 
plural pingos
: a low hill or mound forced up by hydrostatic pressure in an area underlain by permafrost
Examples of pingo in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In some cases, a single word conjures the joyful life of a hunter 600 years ago or an old friend who taught me what a pingo was — an ice-cored hill perfect for surveying an area.
—
Anchorage Daily News, 11 Apr. 2021
Since ice takes up more space than water, the growth of ice squeezes the unfrozen slurry, concentrating and pressurizing the gas and water, eventually bulging at the surface in a wart-like hill, called a pingo.
—Maya Wei-Haas, National Geographic, 23 Sep. 2020
The pingo-like structures and the water that pushes up through fractures in the crater revealed that Ceres actually experienced cryovolcanic activity, or ice volcanoes, beginning around 9 million years ago.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 11 Aug. 2020
Pingo Canadian Landmark features eight of the 1,350 pingos found in the region, including the 160-foot-high Ibyuk Pingo, the second-tallest in the world.
—Karen Gardiner, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 June 2019
Yoshikawa admires Leffingwell's interpretations of frozen ground features like pingos, enhanced by his year-round residency at a spot where the sun doesn't shine for months.
—Alaska Dispatch News, 28 Oct. 2017
Sometimes called hydrolaccoliths, pingos typically form in arctic regions, like Siberia and northern Canada.
—Lacy Schley, Discover Magazine, 7 Aug. 2017
If a pingo collapsed tomorrow, though, there's no guarantee humanity would notice.
—Stephanie Pappas Live Science Contributor, Fox News, 5 June 2017
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.
Anchorage Daily News, 11 Apr. 2021
Since ice takes up more space than water, the growth of ice squeezes the unfrozen slurry, concentrating and pressurizing the gas and water, eventually bulging at the surface in a wart-like hill, called a pingo.
—Maya Wei-Haas, National Geographic, 23 Sep. 2020
The pingo-like structures and the water that pushes up through fractures in the crater revealed that Ceres actually experienced cryovolcanic activity, or ice volcanoes, beginning around 9 million years ago.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 11 Aug. 2020
Pingo Canadian Landmark features eight of the 1,350 pingos found in the region, including the 160-foot-high Ibyuk Pingo, the second-tallest in the world.
—Karen Gardiner, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 June 2019
Yoshikawa admires Leffingwell's interpretations of frozen ground features like pingos, enhanced by his year-round residency at a spot where the sun doesn't shine for months.
—Alaska Dispatch News, 28 Oct. 2017
Sometimes called hydrolaccoliths, pingos typically form in arctic regions, like Siberia and northern Canada.
—Lacy Schley, Discover Magazine, 7 Aug. 2017
If a pingo collapsed tomorrow, though, there's no guarantee humanity would notice.
—Stephanie Pappas Live Science Contributor, Fox News, 5 June 2017
Cite this Entry
“Pingo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pingo. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share