hill
noun
a natural elevation of the earth's surface, smaller than a mountain.
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Hilal.
hill
1 American
[hil]
/ hɪl /
noun
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hills
plural
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a natural elevation of the earth's surface, smaller than a mountain.
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an incline, especially in a road.
This old jalopy won't make it up the next hill.
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an artificial heap, pile, or mound.
a hill made by ants.
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a small mound of earth raised about a cultivated plant or a cluster of such plants.
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the plant or plants so surrounded.
a hill of potatoes.
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Baseball. mound.
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the Hill. Capitol Hill.
verb (used with object)
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hills,
present (3rd person singular)
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hilled,
past participle, past
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hilling
present participle
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to surround with hills.
to hill potatoes.
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to form into a hill or heap.
idioms
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go over the hill,
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to break out of prison.
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to absent oneself without leave from one's military unit.
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to leave suddenly or mysteriously.
Rumor has it that her husband has gone over the hill.
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over the hill,
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relatively advanced in age.
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past one's prime.
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Hill
2
American
[hil]
/ hɪl /
noun
-
Ambrose Powell 1825–65, Confederate general in the U.S. Civil War.
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Archibald Vivian 1886–1977, English physiologist: Nobel Prize in Medicine 1922.
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James Jerome, 1838–1916, U.S. railroad builder and financier, born in Canada.
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Joe, 1879–1915, U.S. labor organizer and songwriter, born in Sweden.
hill
1
British
/ hɪl /
noun
-
-
a conspicuous and often rounded natural elevation of the earth's surface, less high or craggy than a mountain
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( in combination )
a hillside
a hilltop
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-
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a heap or mound made by a person or animal
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( in combination )
a dunghill
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an incline; slope
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informal beyond one's prime
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slang military absent without leave or deserting
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strenuously and persistently
verb
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to form into a hill or mound
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to cover or surround with a mound or heap of earth
Hill
2
British
/ hɪl /
noun
-
Archibald Vivian. 1886–1977, British biochemist, noted for his research into heat loss in muscle contraction: shared the Nobel prize for physiology or medicine (1922)
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Damon Graham Devereux, son of Graham Hill. born 1960, British motor-racing driver; Formula One world champion (1996)
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David Octavius 1802–70, Scottish painter and portrait photographer, noted esp for his collaboration with the chemist Robert Adamson (1821–48)
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Sir Geoffrey ( William ). born 1932, British poet: his books include King Log (1968), Mercian Hymns (1971), The Mystery of the Charity of Charles Péguy (1983), and The Orchards of Syon (2002)
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Graham. 1929–75, British motor-racing driver: world champion (1962, 1968)
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Octavia. 1838–1912, British housing reformer; a founder of the National Trust
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Sir Rowland. 1795–1879, British originator of the penny postage
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Susan ( Elizabeth ). born 1942, British novelist and writer of short stories: her books include I'm the King of the Castle (1970) The Woman in Black (1983), and Felix Derby (2002)
hill
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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hillsimple
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hillssimple
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have hilledperfect
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has hilledperfect
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am hillingprogressive
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are hillingprogressive
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is hillingprogressive
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have been hillingperfect progressive
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has been hillingperfect progressive
Past
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hilledsimple
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had hilledperfect
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was hillingprogressive
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were hillingprogressive
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had been hillingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of hill
before 1000; Middle English; Old English hyll; cognate with Middle Dutch hille, Latin collis hill; compare Latin culmen top, peak ( see column, culminate), celsus lofty, very high, Gothic hallus rock, Lithuanian kálnas mountain, Greek kolōnós hill, kolophṓn summit ( see colophon)
Explanation
A hill is a high ridge or mound of land, not as tall as a mountain. A house on a hill has a great view of the surrounding countryside, and very little chance of being flooded. You can hike or drive up a hill — a gentle upward slope, in either case. An accidental or deliberate mound of stuff is another kind of hill, like a hill of snow in your yard, or a hill of trash at the dump. What's considered a hill in mountainous India — a height of up to 10,000 feet — is absolutely a mountain in Great Britain, where a hill is defined as an elevation of less than 2,000 feet.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
If the language of the text message is ambiguous, lacks intent, or could be referring to any number of transactions, you would have a steep hill to climb.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026
The team said they had to carry the casualty off the hill, with the help of members of the OMM safety team, before handing the runner to the Scottish Ambulance Service.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
Still, what seemed to move him most was that the celebration would reach beyond the museum on the hill.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026
The hill we live on, as we say in Connecticut, is “walk to town,” which means I can get to a grocery store and commuter rail no matter how much snow without using my car.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Torak dropped to the ground and crept through the birch trees to the top of the hill.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
Because she required specialist care, midwives at Daisy Hill in Newry wanted to send Natasha Daryaie to Craigavon Area Hospital but were told there was no room.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026
Natasha, whose son Odin was eventually born at Daisy Hill at full term, said her experience showed why having services close to home mattered particularly in rural areas which she believes should be treated differently.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026
The professional theatre company The Play's The Thing was set up by Rosemary Hill in 2008 and encourages new writers and performers as well as producing more traditional plays.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
"We've got a fantastic grassroots community doing so many things," said Hill.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
“I had a dream down in...you know, Tartarus. I was on Half-Blood Hill, and Athena’s voice said, I must stand here. The Roman must bring me.”
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
It will also be rather misty and murky over some coasts and hills.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
They landed in a Laurel Canyon house with views, but she felt isolated in the hills.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
Some migrants fled into nearby hills to avoid being put on buses.
From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026
Stryker armored combat vehicles rolled down the hills.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
They creaked through rolling hills dotted with apple orchards stripped bare, past fields of brown earth awaiting the planting of oats and wheat.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
Yas, sah, jes' about the same way, only it has to be hilled higher an' hoed more'n corn.
From The Boy With the U.S. Census by Francis Rolt-Wheeler
These were immediately taken on board, and consisted of two sheep, an elk ready hilled, and a few fowls, with some vegetables and fruit.
I think I hilled those spuds, too, with furrows—or a crop of Indian corn I put in later on.
From Joe Wilson and His Mates by Henry Lawson
The potatoes were growing finely and he hilled them up for the first time.
From Hiram the Young Farmer by Burbank L. Todd
There was little work for Paul to do in the village; but he kept their own garden in good trim,—the onion-bed clear of weeds, and the potatoes well hilled.
From Winning His Way by Charles Carleton Coffin
Prevailing industry practices often involve the concentrated application of fertilizers during the planting or hilling phases, particularly in Atlantic Canada.
From Salon ● Nov. 28, 2023
At the usual first hilling time, Dowding pulls a little nearby compost around each plant in a minimound, later adding more from the heap as the plants need hilling again.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 29, 2023
He mentions that the Potawatomi word for “hill” is a verb: “Hills are always in the process of hilling, they are actively being hills.”
From New York Times ● May 27, 2020
On an afternoon in March, Loïc Gouzer, a specialist in contemporary art at Christie’s New York, attended a hilling session to survey several works that had been secured for an upcoming auction.
From The New Yorker ● Jun. 27, 2016
In hilling trees, pains should be taken not to leave deep holes, from which the earth was dug, close to the tree, for water collects in them.
From Manual of Gardening (Second Edition) by L. H. (Liberty Hyde) Bailey
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