mountain

noun

moun·​tain ˈmau̇n-tᵊn 

often attributive

1

a

: a landmass that projects conspicuously above its surroundings and is higher than a hill

The sun set behind the mountains.

b

: an elongated ridge

2

a

: a great mass

a mountain of a man

—E. K. Brown

b

: a vast number or quantity

a mountain of mail

a mountain of debt

Synonyms

• alp
• hump
• mount
• peak

Examples of mountain in a Sentence

She watched the sun set behind the mountains.

a cabin in the mountains

They both like mountain climbing.

We've received a mountain of mail.

Recent Examples on the Web

Read Next Scaly desert creature — isolated by mountains in China — is a new species. —Irene Wright, Sacramento Bee, 3 Apr. 2024

The animals were discovered on field trips around the Tarim Basin, a desert valley surrounded by mountains on all sides in northwest China. —Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2024

Despite some controversy around the mountain of cash plowed into the club in the last couple of years, there is a growing expectation that the club will become self-sufficient as football operations regulate. —Byryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 3 Apr. 2024

California’s mountains are covered with snow, reservoirs are mostly filled and hills across the state are sprouting green grass and wildflowers after the latest round of soaking storms. —Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2024

Hike the Samaria Gorge (which takes five to seven hours through streams and between cliffs), or walk through wildflowers along paths in the mountain villages. —Eleni N. Gage, Travel + Leisure, 1 Apr. 2024

The hotel’s location informs the interior design: Thirty minutes west of central Kyoto, the Arashiyama district is defined by nature, with the Katsura River at its center, and filled with bamboo groves and surrounded by forested mountains. —John Wogan, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2024

The debris and boulders within the channel may have also came from high up on the mountain, according to NASA. —Passant Rabie / Gizmodo, Quartz, 1 Apr. 2024

Mount Everest climbers will now have to pick up their own poop amid their travels on the mountain. Nepal, the mountain’s home country, has mandated a new rule that climbers must bring their waste down with them from Earth's highest mountain above sea level in an effort to aid pollution issues. —Nicholas Rice, Peoplemag, 31 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English montaine, monteine, mounteyne, borrowed from Anglo-French muntaine, monteigne, mountaigne "elevated region, mountain range, mountain" (also continental Old French, Middle French montagne), going back to Vulgar Latin *montānea, from Latin mont-, mons "mountain, hill" + Vulgar Latin *-ānea, collective suffix, from neuter plural of Latin -āneus (from -ānus -an entry 2 + -eus -eous) — more at mount entry 1

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing mountain

• Bernese mountain dog
• mountain dew
• mountain time
• American mountain ash
• mountain cranberry
• acute mountain sickness
• mountain ash
• mountain goat
• mountain coati
• mountain bicycle
• mountain chain
• mountain sickness
• mountain mahogany
• European mountain ash
• cat-a-mountain
• mountain biking
• Welsh mountain pony
• mountain gorilla
• mountain laurel
• snow-on-the-mountain
• mountain lion
• mountain bike
• mountain sheep
• mountain bluebird
• mountain man
• make a mountain out of a molehill

Kids Definition

mountain

noun

moun·​tain ˈmau̇nt-ᵊn 

1

: an elevation higher than a hill

2

: a great mass or huge number

a mountain of mail