mountain

[ moun-tn ]

noun

1. a natural elevation of the earth's surface rising more or less abruptly to a summit, and attaining an altitude greater than that of a hill, usually greater than 2,000 feet (610 meters).
2. a large mass of something resembling this, as in shape or size.
3. a huge amount:

   a mountain of incoming mail.

4. (initial capital letter) a steam locomotive having a four-wheeled front truck, eight driving wheels, and a two-wheeled rear truck.
5. Also called mountain wine. British Archaic. a sweet Malaga wine.

adjective

1. of or relating to mountains:

   mountain air.

2. living, growing, or located in the mountains:

   mountain people.

3. resembling or suggesting a mountain, as in size.

Mountain

¹

/ ˈmaʊntɪn /

noun

1. the Mountain
   an extremist faction during the French Revolution led by Danton and Robespierre

mountain

²

/ ˈmaʊntɪn /

noun

1. 1. a natural upward projection of the earth's surface, higher and steeper than a hill and often having a rocky summit
   2. ( as modifier )

      mountain people

      mountain scenery

   3. ( in combination )

      a mountaintop

2. a huge heap or mass

   a mountain of papers

3. anything of great quantity or size
4. a surplus of a commodity, esp in the European Union

   the butter mountain

5. a mountain to climb informal.
   a serious or considerable difficulty or obstruction to overcome
6. make a mountain out of a molehill
   See molehill

mountain

/ moun′tən /

1. A generally massive and usually steep-sided, raised portion of the Earth's surface. Mountains can occur as single peaks or as part of a long chain. They can form through volcanic activity, by erosion, or by uplift of the continental crust when two tectonic plates collide. The Himalayas, which are the highest mountains in the world, were formed when the plate carrying the landmass of India collided with the plate carrying the landmass of China.

Other Words From

• mountain·less adjective
• sub·mountain adjective
• under·mountain noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of mountain¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English mountaine, from Old French montaigne, from Vulgar Latin montānea (unrecorded), noun use of feminine of montāneus (unrecorded), from Latin montān(us) “mountainous” (from mont-, stem of mōns “hill, mountain” + -ānus -an ) + -eus, adjective suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of mountain¹

C18: so called because its members sat in the highest row of seats at the National Convention Hall in 1793

Origin of mountain²

C13: from Old French montaigne, from Vulgar Latin montānea (unattested) mountainous, from Latin montānus, from mons mountain

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. make a mountain out of a molehill. molehill ( def 2 ).

More idioms and phrases containing mountain

see if the mountain won't come to Muhammad ; make a mountain out of a molehill .

Example Sentences

This past February, the Wyoming Active Club, a white supremacist organization, plastered stickers around Campbell County in the northeast part of the state that pictured mountain forests and said, “Preserve Nature, End Immigration.”

From Salon

Ravines — which line both sides of the winding roads in Las Posas Estates and Camarillo Heights — are particularly dangerous, said Kyle Ferris, fire behavior analyst with the Mountain Incident Command Team.

From Los Angeles Times

In a case like the Mountain fire, “It truly is random,” said Ferris, the fire analyst, “when you have the fires moving this fast and the amount of the embers it casts going everywhere and the size of the embers too.”

From Los Angeles Times

Amid explosions and darkened skies, the crew at Mountain High ski resort jumped into action, firing up a hundred snow cannons to douse the flames with water.

From Los Angeles Times

As Jensen used a window screen to sift the safe’s ashen contents for diamonds and stones, his wife Dawn DaMart wandered the blackened foundation searching for tokens of the couple’s life before the Mountain fire.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• alp
• bluff
• butte
• cliff
• crag
• elevation
• eminence
• height
• mesa
• mount
• palisade
• peak
• pike
• precipice
• range
• ridge
• sierra
• tor
• volcano