1
as in piles
a quantity of things thrown or stacked on one another
the ants made little hills of dirt
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in mounds
an area of high ground
a town nestled in a valley surrounded by green hills
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in inclines
an upward slope
I got stuck behind a truck going up a hill in a no-passing zone
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in banks
to form into a pile or ridge of earth
hilled peat moss around the rosebushes to protect them from the freeze
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of hills
Scott Eden, Rolling Stone, 1 Feb. 2026
The wheels, for example, are oversized so the suitcase is easy to drag over bricks, curbs, dirt, or up steep hills.
—The Editors, Outside, 1 Feb. 2026
The world’s leading menswear brands have never been shy about colonizing new territory—and recently, the best are heading to the hills.
—Justin Fenner, Robb Report, 1 Feb. 2026
In the background, passengers can spot rolling hills and early signs of the city beyond.
—Abby Price, Travel + Leisure, 1 Feb. 2026
Every day, Angela Della Valle drives an hour through central Louisiana’s yellow-pine hills to visit her husband at Winn Correctional Center, in the middle of the Kisatchie National Forest.
—Miami Herald, 31 Jan. 2026
Besides the teams’ own social media output, captured from inside the track, and F1 itself issuing some recaps, the primary footage of the test has come through ultra-zoomed videos captured by those staking out the nearby hills.
—Luke Smith, New York Times, 31 Jan. 2026
The subterranean lounge is built on the garden level of a brick townhouse perched atop the hills of Mount Adams, Cincinnati's most beautiful neighborhood.
—Keith Pandolfi, Cincinnati Enquirer, 30 Jan. 2026
Nestled in the green hills of the Pacific Palisades and just miles from the Pacific Ocean, community members gathered for an afternoon service and concert to grieve, heal and remember — remember homes lost, remember their lives before displacement and remember to find hope in recovery.
—Camelia Heins, Daily News, 8 Jan. 2026
Noun
In the hills, in the hollows, up the draws and the old dirt logging roads, hidden in the chaparral above the fog line, growing and selling weed became a way of life, woven into the community and its economy.
—Scott Eden, Rolling Stone, 1 Feb. 2026
The wheels, for example, are oversized so the suitcase is easy to drag over bricks, curbs, dirt, or up steep hills.
—The Editors, Outside, 1 Feb. 2026
The world’s leading menswear brands have never been shy about colonizing new territory—and recently, the best are heading to the hills.
—Justin Fenner, Robb Report, 1 Feb. 2026
In the background, passengers can spot rolling hills and early signs of the city beyond.
—Abby Price, Travel + Leisure, 1 Feb. 2026
Every day, Angela Della Valle drives an hour through central Louisiana’s yellow-pine hills to visit her husband at Winn Correctional Center, in the middle of the Kisatchie National Forest.
—Miami Herald, 31 Jan. 2026
Besides the teams’ own social media output, captured from inside the track, and F1 itself issuing some recaps, the primary footage of the test has come through ultra-zoomed videos captured by those staking out the nearby hills.
—Luke Smith, New York Times, 31 Jan. 2026
The subterranean lounge is built on the garden level of a brick townhouse perched atop the hills of Mount Adams, Cincinnati's most beautiful neighborhood.
—Keith Pandolfi, Cincinnati Enquirer, 30 Jan. 2026
Nestled in the green hills of the Pacific Palisades and just miles from the Pacific Ocean, community members gathered for an afternoon service and concert to grieve, heal and remember — remember homes lost, remember their lives before displacement and remember to find hope in recovery.
—Camelia Heins, Daily News, 8 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hills
Noun
-
Satellite images show piles of dirt from the excavation growing in size.—
Jon Gambrell,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Jan. 2026
-
The lobby, reminiscent of a living room, is designed with a mix of rattan lanterns, locally made ceramics, antique blue-and-white porcelain plates, potted plants, and piles of books.—
Gisela Williams,
Travel + Leisure,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Transfer to pastry bag fitted with star tip and pipe 8 mounds over holes on top of baba.—
Jesse Szewczyk,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Meanwhile, the tiniest of the land’s inhabitants, the termite, work steadily to build up mounds of fungus and sand, the foundation of the lagoon’s precious islands.—
Condé Nast Traveler,
Condé Nast Traveler,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
But the car—small, low to the ground, and exceedingly heavy, owing to the ballistic steel and glass—is not suited to a city like Caracas, which is rife with steep inclines and deep potholes, and is best travelled in a four-by-four.—
Armando Ledezma,
New Yorker,
14 Jan. 2026
-
Its flexible 3-layer HydroWall shell is completely waterproof and still breathable, with pit zips to release excess heat on steep inclines.—
Annita Katee,
Travel + Leisure,
16 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
The group banks its seventh champ total.—
Pamela Bustios,
Billboard,
4 Nov. 2025
-
To them, bank lending has multiplicative qualities whereby Bank A rents $100,000 from a saver, lends out $90,000 to a borrower who then banks the money at Bank B, only for Bank B to lend out $81,000, only for the borrower to bank the $81,000 at Bank C that lends out $72,900.—
John Tamny,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
In the back room were stacks upon stacks of toilet paper, diapers and paper towels.—
Alicia Wallace,
CNN Money,
24 Jan. 2026
-
Flatter stacks, meanwhile, more easily maintain their center of gravity.—
Noah Lyons,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
With a thick white-gray coat that blends into their surroundings, these reclusive felines live on high, rocky mountains with some of the harshest conditions on Earth, according to the WWF.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
27 Jan. 2026
-
At the noon event, Sladek is expected to read from his memoir, which recounts his escape from persecution into the Tatra mountains along Slovakia’s border with Poland.—
Bruce Finley,
Denver Post,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The race is on a longer course than the sprints, with two ascents and two descents.—
Sean Gregory,
Time,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Eighteen Mile Creek in Hamburg is another such destination, offering over 25 icy ascents for ice climbers in the Buffalo area.—
Brian Higgins,
Outside,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
However, sometimes the abnormal IgA (the antibody that clumps up and causes problems) does run in families.—
Brandi Jones,
Health,
15 Jan. 2026
-
Cocoa powder often clumps in its container.—
Erin Merhar,
Southern Living,
11 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hills.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hills. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
