unclimbable

adjective

un·​climb·​able ˌən-ˈklī-mə-bəl How to pronounce unclimbable (audio)
: not able to be climbed
unclimbableness noun

Examples of unclimbable in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The first three films are standard fare: pro climbers on quests to climb the unclimbable. Peter Vigneron, Outside Online, 12 Dec. 2020 Half Dome fell off and likely left the route unclimbable, Climbing reported Monday. The Editors, Outside Online, 7 July 2015 The unclimbable, barbed wire barricades, along with tens of thousands of National Guard troops stationed in Washington, D.C., have made the nation's capital city look more like a warzone than the seat of democracy in recent days. Fox News, 21 Jan. 2021 No Texas Tech team has been able to climb the unclimbable hill that is beating a Matt Campbell Iowa State team. Brice Paterik, Dallas News, 2 Sep. 2020 The hills were covered in wide sprays of holly oak, then thick bushes, then slopes as unclimbable as paper. Ailsa Ross, Longreads, 9 Aug. 2019 For a while, Nanda Devi was closed by the Indian government because it was considered unclimbable. Colleen Shalby, latimes.com, 3 June 2019 At 13, Fred and two friends reached the top of Mount Despair, a rugged 7,292-foot peak in the North Cascades that mountaineers had considered unclimbable. Robert D. McFadden, New York Times, 31 Oct. 2017 In Coronado, Strickland said the suicide-prevention collaborative has been eyeing as a possible solution the kind of inward-tilting, unclimbable fencing that was installed on the Cold Spring Canyon Bridge in Santa Barbara County. John Wilkens, sandiegouniontribune.com, 20 May 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unclimbable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1540, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of unclimbable was circa 1540

Dictionary Entries Near unclimbable

Cite this Entry

“Unclimbable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unclimbable. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.

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