foothill

[ foot-hil ]

/ ˈfʊtˌhɪl /

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noun

a low hill at the base of a mountain or mountain range.

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Origin of foothill

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50; foot + hill

Words nearby foothill

footfall, footfault, footframe, footgear, Foot Guards, foothill, foothold, footie, foot in both camps, have a, footing, footing piece

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

How to use foothill in a sentence

We’re still in the foothills of what’s in the pipeline to come from Christmas and New Year.
'It's Unimaginably Bad.' How Government Failures and the New COVID-19 Variant Are Pushing the U.K.'s Health System Into Crisis|Suyin Haynes|January 13, 2021|Time
San Diego’s mountains and foothills, which typically record the strongest Santa Ana winds, are at high risk for powerline fires.
Lessons From San Diego’s Approach to Wildfires|Diana Leonard|December 21, 2020|Voice of San Diego
Diosady and Mannar’s DFS was given to 212 female tea pickers on an estate in Darjeeling, a lush green region in West Bengal, in the foothills of the Himalaya mountains.
One man’s crusade to end a global scourge with better salt|Katie McLean|December 18, 2020|MIT Technology Review
To capture this photograph—the first ever to show one of the species eating—Culebras trekked through the foothills in pouring rain for four hours.
Check out the breathtaking winners of the 2020 Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest|Rachael Zisk|October 20, 2020|Popular-Science

Until I moved to the foothills, where they grow in abundance, I’d never really taken notice of them.
I Missed Bars. So I Built One in My Own Backyard.|Nick Heil|October 16, 2020|Outside Online
Miramar is a suburb of Santa Barbara, as is Montecito, another charming foothill site for country homes.
The Road of a Thousand Wonders|Passenger Dept. Southern Pacific Co
The foothill counties, tributary to the great interior valley, are rich in gold and other minerals.
The Road of a Thousand Wonders|Passenger Dept. Southern Pacific Co
None of these places can be identified as connected with the foothill or plains area bordering the Bay.
The Aboriginal Population of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, California|S. F. Cook
This desert verdure was what lent the soft gray shade to the foothill when seen from a distance.
The Call of the Canyon|Zane Grey
Upon Carley's return to the cabin she found Stanton and Flo waiting for her to accompany them on a ride up the foothill.
The Call of the Canyon|Zane Grey

British Dictionary definitions for foothill

foothill

/ (ˈfʊtˌhɪl) /

noun

(often plural) a lower slope of a mountain or a relatively low hill at the foot of a mountain

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