hill
noun
a natural elevation of the earth's surface, smaller than a mountain.
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:
The house is semi-secluded against a lush hill, beneath the actual Mulholland Drive, and has a subtle chevron pattern detail that runs throughout the house, similar to the floor of the “Twin Peaks” red room.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
The same scenes of excitement played out on Barcelona's iconic Montjuic hill, where hundreds of people had arranged to meet to enjoy the event.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
Many of its tributaries originate in the surrounding hill states, while flood-control measures are largely planned within Assam.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
"It's never jumped the river like that, and just roared up the hill that fast," she says.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
I was dumped into the side of a pine tree with gear and dog food, and the dogs balled up again in a horrible pile at the bottom of the hill.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
Tommy Hill, managing partner of a hedge fund that focuses on distressed companies, saw Moderna as an opportunity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
Former Plymouth Royal Marine Edward Hill, who first logged the case in 2019, said while he was disappointed there had been "no accountability" the group were overall "happy with the settlement".
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
“From a bond-investor’s perspective, the bottom line is about where you put your money to work,” said Henry Song, a portfolio manager at Diamond Hill.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
Authorities have not officially released the name of the second victim, but Maddalyn’s father identified her as Isabell Hill, 16.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
In Deer Hill, the story had warped into something unrecognizable.
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
Ample windows and three distinct outdoor spaces connect the dwelling to the world around it—including views of the Silver Lake Reservoir and San Gabriel mountains—while its tucked-away location in the hills creates space for solitude.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
"The harvest is hanging by a thread," he told AFP from his vineyard in the village of Spay, looking out over the Rhine and hills scorched a deep brown by the heat.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
The fear is that a spark from an encampment could be whipped by winds and quickly turn into a devastating blaze across Malibu’s fire-prone hills.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Up in the hills above the Roman columns of the ancient site of Sebastia, in the occupied West Bank, are olive fields that have been cultivated for generations by Palestinian families.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
When the hills in back of us began to brighten, Francey took up one of my hands and Maggie the other.
From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff
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
The corn, as soon as shot out of the earth, is weeded: when it mounts up, and its stalks are an inch big, it is hilled, to secure it against the wind.
From History of Louisisana Or of the Western Parts of Virginia and Carolina: Containing by Le Page du Pratz
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
This frame is placed with the small end down at the point where the seeds are to be planted, and the earth is hilled up about it and firmly packed with the feet.
From Manual of Gardening (Second Edition) by L. H. (Liberty Hyde) Bailey
The potatoes were growing finely and he hilled them up for the first time.
From Hiram the Young Farmer by Burbank L. Todd
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
Formerly a great deal of useless labor was spent in hilling up corn; in dry seasons this was worse than useless.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
