hillock

American  

[hil-uhk] / ˈhɪl ək /

noun

1. a small hill.

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hillock British  

/ ˈhɪlək /

noun

1. a small hill or mound

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Other Word Forms

• hillocked adjective
• hillocky adjective

Etymology

Origin of hillock

First recorded in 1350–1400, hillock is from the Middle English word hilloc. See hill, -ock

Explanation

A hillock is a small mound of land that's often nearby a group of taller hills. Small children can rarely resist rolling down a grassy hillock. The word hillock was formed by adding the Old English diminutive -oc to hill, meaning "little hill." You can also call this small, ridged slope of land a knoll. You might sit in the shade of a hillock to eat your picnic lunch, or watch your dog scampering up and down hillocks covered in wildflowers. While you may get out of breath running up a hill, you'll scale a hillock with no problem.

Example Sentences

Father Luget, Mr Halliday says, claimed to have seen the light over a hillock in the rectory garden and to have seen the Crucifixion above it and the Virgin Mary kneeling before it.

From BBC • Jul. 16, 2023

WINTHROP, Okanogan County — On a rocky hillock crowned with lupine and yarrow, Methow Conservancy Executive Director Sarah Brooks surveyed the Sunny M Ranch on the eve of a historic land deal.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 16, 2023

In the afternoon, we reached the bottom and waited on a hillock for Aidano to drive us to Lengai Safari Lodge.

From New York Times • Apr. 17, 2023

Railway workers are planning to build a sandy hillock there where the badgers can dig their homes.

From BBC • Mar. 21, 2023

On January 22, Worsley climbed a hillock of ice and saw that the gale that had blown them north had also compacted the ice and blown Ocean Camp closer to their position.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong