anthill

[ant-hil]

noun

a mound of earth, leaves, etc., formed by a colony of ants in digging or constructing their underground nest.

Origin of anthill

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

This large city lay in the landscape like an anthill in a meadow.
Retrospect of Western Travel, Volume I (of 2)
Harriet Martineau
He was about 400 yards off, and was running from one anthill to another.
The Strand Magazine - Vol. 1 - No. 5 - May 1891
Various
This place is just like an enormous anthill—you know an anthill is nothing but a nursery.
Herland
Charlotte Perkins Stetson Gilman
And he was turned into an anthill covered over with creepers.
Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Bk. 3 Pt. 1
Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa
You will be pegged out on an anthill, sahib, when you have been beaten.
Told in the East
Talbot Mundy

late 13c., from ant + hill.