mount

¹ American  

[mount] / maʊnt /

verb (used with object)

• mounts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• mounted,
  past participle,  past
• mounting
  present participle

1. to go up; climb; ascend.

   to mount stairs.

   Synonyms:

   scale

   Antonyms:

   descend

2. to get up on (a platform, a horse, etc.).

3. to set or place at an elevation.

   to mount a house on stilts.

4. to furnish with a horse or other animal for riding.

5. to set or place (a person) on horseback.

6. to organize, as an army.

7. to prepare and launch, as an attack or a campaign.

8. to raise or put into position for use, as a gun.

9. (of a fortress or warship) to have or carry (guns) in position for use.

10. to go or put on guard, as a sentry or watch.

11. to attach to or fix on or in a support, backing, setting, etc..

    to mount a photograph; to mount a diamond in a ring.

12. to arrange for display.

    to mount a museum exhibit.

13. to provide (a play, musical comedy, opera, etc.) with scenery, costumes, and other equipment for production.

14. to prepare (an animal body or skeleton) as a specimen.

15. (of a male animal) to climb upon (a female) for copulation.

16. Microscopy.

    1. to prepare (a slide) for microscopic investigation.

    2. to prepare (a sample) for examination by a microscope, as by placing it on a slide.

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verb (used without object)

• mounts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• mounted,
  past participle,  past
• mounting
  present participle

1. to increase in amount or intensity (often followed byup ).

   The cost of all those small purchases mounts up.

2. to get up on the back of a horse or other animal for riding.

3. to rise or go to a higher position, level, degree, etc.; ascend.

   Synonyms:

   soar

4. to get up on something, as a platform.

noun

1. the act or a manner of mounting.

2. a horse, other animal, or sometimes a vehicle, as a bicycle, used, provided, or available for riding.

   Synonyms:

   palfrey, charger, steed, horse

3. an act or occasion of riding a horse, especially in a race.

4. a support, backing, setting, or the like, on or in which something is, or is to be, mounted or fixed.

5. an ornamental metal piece applied to a piece of wooden furniture.

6. Microscopy. a prepared slide.

7. a distinctive metal feature on a sheath or scabbard, as a locket or chape.

8. Philately. hinge.

9. Printing. a wooden or metal block to which a plate is secured for printing.

mount ² American  

[mount] / maʊnt /

noun

Chiefly Literary.

1. a mountain: often used as part of a placename.

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mount ¹ British  

/ maʊnt /

verb

1. to go up (a hill, stairs, etc); climb

2. to get up on (a horse, a platform, etc)

3. io increase; accumulate

   excitement mounted

4. (tr) to fix onto a backing, setting, or support

   to mount a photograph

   to mount a slide

5. (tr) to provide with a horse for riding, or to place on a horse

6. (of male animals) to climb onto (a female animal) for copulation

7. (tr) to prepare (a play, musical comedy, etc) for production

8. (tr) to plan and organize (a compaign, an exhibition, etc)

9. (tr) military to prepare or launch (an operation)

   the Allies mounted an offensive

10. (tr) to prepare (a skeleton, dead animal, etc) for exhibition as a specimen

11. (tr) to place or carry (weapons) in such a position that they can be fired

12. See guard

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noun

1. a backing, setting, or support onto which something is fixed

2. the act or manner of mounting

3. a horse for riding

4. a slide used in microscopy

5. philately

   1. a small transparent pocket in an album for a postage stamp

   2. another word for hinge

mount ² British  

/ maʊnt /

noun

1. a mountain or hill: used in literature and (when cap.) in proper names

   Mount Everest

2. (in palmistry) any of the seven cushions of flesh on the palm of the hand

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Synonym Usage

See climb.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• mounter
  noun
• mountable
  adjective
• mountless
  adjective
• unmountable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• mounting
  present
• mounted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• mount
  simple
• mounts
  simple
• have mounted
  perfect
• has mounted
  perfect
• am mounting
  progressive
• are mounting
  progressive
• is mounting
  progressive
• have been mounting
  perfect progressive
• has been mounting
  perfect progressive

Past

• mounted
  simple
• had mounted
  perfect
• was mounting
  progressive
• were mounting
  progressive
• had been mounting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will mount
  simple
• will have mounted
  perfect
• will be mounting
  progressive
• will have been mounting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of mount¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English mounten, from Old French munter, monter, Vulgar Latin (unattested) montāre, derivative of Latin mont- (stem of mōns ) mount ²

Origin of mount²

First recorded before 900; Middle English mount(e), mont, munt(e), Old English munt “mount, hill, mountain,” from Latin mont- (inflectional stem of mōns ) “mountain, hill”

Explanation

To mount is to climb up something, like a ladder, or get on the back of something, like a horse. You can also mount something on another object, like a camera on a tripod or a sticker on a notebook. The word mountain can help you remember that one way to mount is to climb. You can mount a mountain or a flight of stairs. You can also mount a pony by getting on its back or a bicycle by climbing onto it. The oldest meaning of mount is, in fact, "mountain," from the Old French word mont, which has its root in the Latin montem for “mountain."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mount mounts mounted mounting

Meta is doubling down on smart glasses and artificial intelligence even as concerns mount that wearable technology is being used to violate people’s privacy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

The treatment also appeared to create conditions that helped aging skin mount a stronger regenerative response.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026

Brent crude futures rose 1.8% to $107.59 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate gained 1.9% to $103.30 a barrel, as concerns over Middle East crude supplies continued to mount.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

Scores of women queued at a school sheltering Nepal flood victims, jostling to receive personal-care supplies, as concerns over sanitation and menstrual hygiene mount days after the catastrophic disaster.

From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026

Vera, the little soldier clasped in her hand, began to mount the stairs.

From "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie

Apple is closing in on a major milestone as excitement mounts for the company’s new iPhones and artificial-intelligence strategy.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026

What do you do when a creative team mounts an acclaimed production of a beloved play, breaking box office records as one of the most successful shows in your theater’s more than 100-year history?

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has said no-one foresaw the influx of 72,000 migrants in the exclave of Ceuta, as pressure mounts over his handling of the crisis.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

Her disclosure came as speculation mounts over her political future.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

Clearly, something was up: Woolf and Richardson were told not to accept any more mounts pending a meeting by the stewards.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

A grand prize of $10,000 and a mounted catfish trophy were at stake.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

Oil futures surged $4.44, or 4.4% to $105.83 a barrel as concerns mounted about the ability of one of the world’s largest exporters, Saudi Arabia, to get its crude to market.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

Alarm mounted throughout the summer as researchers at leading AI labs found the pace of development far outstripping their expectations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026

Among them is what he describes as a "fire organ tractor trailer", an organ that shoots flames and is mounted on the back of a lawnmower.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

Hereupon the president was contented the fort should be palisadoed, the ordnance mounted, his men armed and exercised.

From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone

Long Beach has been working toward this vision since it adopted its bicycle master plan 25 years ago, now with mounting urgency as auto-related fatalities rise.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

Set up by the then-Defence Secretary Ben Wallace following the publication of the evidence by the BBC in 2022, the IIA has come under criticism over delays and mounting costs.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

While more Americans than ever use AI, opposition to the technology is mounting due to environmental concerns, unemployment fears and warnings about the end of the world.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

Global worries about the power of advanced AI tools are mounting after a string of hacking incidents involving models from both OpenAI and rival developer Anthropic.

From Barron's

The road curved, mounting away from the water.

From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner

Related Words

• build
• escalate
• expand
• heighten
• intensify
• rise