anthill

[ ant-hil ]
See synonyms for anthill on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a mound of earth, leaves, etc., formed by a colony of ants in digging or constructing their underground nest.

Origin of anthill

1
1250–1300; Middle English amete hulle, ampte hille;see ant, hill

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use anthill in a sentence

  • Have you ever disturbed an ant-hill, and seen the ants come running out in great haste to learn what was wrong?

  • Groups of them come out to the top of the ant-hill to warm and thaw themselves in the rays of the sun.

  • The same gentleman another day observed a slave ant venture out to the entrance to the ant-hill to enjoy the warmth of the sun.

  • For instance, an ant was one day seen at some distance from the ant-hill, and evidently in no hurry to go back to it.

  • Within two weeks from this day I shall be with you, and then my little ant-hill of mystery will be torn to pieces.

    An Arkansas Planter | Opie Percival Read

British Dictionary definitions for ant hill

ant hill

noun
  1. a mound of soil, leaves, etc, near the entrance of an ants' nest, carried and deposited there by the ants while constructing the nest

  2. a mound of earth, usually about 2 metres high, built up by termites in forming a nest

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012