hill

¹

[ hil ]

noun

1. a natural elevation of the earth's surface, smaller than a mountain.

   Synonyms: foothill, hillock, knoll, mound, prominence, eminence

   Antonyms: valley, hollow

2. an incline, especially in a road:

   This old jalopy won't make it up the next hill.

3. an artificial heap, pile, or mound:

   a hill made by ants.

4. a small mound of earth raised about a cultivated plant or a cluster of such plants.
5. the plant or plants so surrounded:

   a hill of potatoes.

6. Baseball. mound ¹( def 4 ).
7. the Hill. Capitol Hill.

verb (used with object)

1. to surround with hills:

   to hill potatoes.

2. to form into a hill or heap.

Hill

²

[ hil ]

noun

1. Ambrose Pow·ell [pou, -, uh, l], 1825–65, Confederate general in the U.S. Civil War.
2. Archibald Viv·i·an [viv, -ee-, uh, n], 1886–1977, English physiologist: Nobel Prize in Medicine 1922.
3. James Jerome, 1838–1916, U.S. railroad builder and financier, born in Canada.
4. Joe, 1879–1915, U.S. labor organizer and songwriter, born in Sweden.

Hill

¹

/ hɪl /

noun

1. HillArchibald Vivian18861977MBritishSCIENCE: chemist 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)
2. HillDamon Graham Devereux1960MBritishSPORT AND GAMES: racing driver Damon Graham Devereux, son of Graham Hill. born 1960, British motor-racing driver; Formula One world champion (1996)
3. HillDavid Octavius18021870MScottishARTS AND CRAFTS: painterARTS AND CRAFTS: photographer David Octavius 1802–70, Scottish painter and portrait photographer, noted esp for his collaboration with the chemist Robert Adamson (1821–48)
4. HillSir Geoffrey (William)1932MBritishWRITING: poet 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)
5. HillGraham19291975MBritishSPORT AND GAMES: racing driver Graham. 1929–75, British motor-racing driver: world champion (1962, 1968)
6. HillOctavia18381912FBritishPOLITICS: housing reformer Octavia. 1838–1912, British housing reformer; a founder of the National Trust
7. HillSir Rowland17951879MBritishMISC: originator of penny postage Sir Rowland. 1795–1879, British originator of the penny postage
8. HillSusan (Elizabeth)1942FBritishWRITING: novelistWRITING: short-story writer 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

²

/ hɪl /

noun

1. 1. a conspicuous and often rounded natural elevation of the earth's surface, less high or craggy than a mountain
   2. ( in combination )

      a hillside

      a hilltop

2. 1. a heap or mound made by a person or animal
   2. ( in combination )

      a dunghill

3. an incline; slope
4. over the hill
   over the hill
   1. beyond one's prime
   2. military absent without leave or deserting
5. up hill and down dale
   up hill and down dale strenuously and persistently

verb

1. to form into a hill or mound
2. to cover or surround with a mound or heap of earth

Derived Forms

• ˈhiller, noun
• ˈhilly, adjective

Other Words From

• hiller noun
• under·hill noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of hill¹

before 1000; Middle English; Old English hyll; cognate with Middle Dutch hille, Latin collis hill; compare Latin culmen top, peak ( column, culminate ), celsus lofty, very high, Gothic hallus rock, Lithuanian kálnas mountain, Greek kolōnós hill, kolophṓn summit ( colophon )

Word History and Origins

Origin of hill¹

Old English hyll; related to Old Frisian holla head, Latin collis hill, Low German hull hill

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. go over the hill, Slang.
   1. to break out of prison.
   2. to absent oneself without leave from one's military unit.
   3. to leave suddenly or mysteriously:

      Rumor has it that her husband has gone over the hill.

2. over the hill,
   1. relatively advanced in age.
   2. past one's prime.

More idioms and phrases containing hill

see downhill all the way ; go downhill ; head for (the hills) ; make a mountain out of a molehill ; not worth a dime (hill of beans) ; old as Adam (the hills) ; over the hill .

Example Sentences

Justin Robinson, 44, a lifelong resident of Bonny Doon, an unincorporated community in the hills above Santa Cruz, got an order to evacuate on Tuesday, August 18.

From Outside Online

We’ve got a lot more hills and it’s just a different landscape.

From Ozy

Their compact, powerful motors strip away the burden of carrying heavy loads and give you a smooth, swift push that flattens hills and shrinks city distances.

From Outside Online

Oxford officials, including Hill and Gilbert, did not respond to requests for comment.

From Fortune

In addition to supporting Hill, the Club’s ad spending has mostly targeted Harshbarger and Crowe, which suggests they may be the leading contenders.

From FiveThirtyEight

Cruce operates the Iron Hill Campground on the other side of the highway.

From The Daily Beast

The procession continued on to the Cypress Hill Cemetery, where Ramos was buried the week before.

From The Daily Beast

Johnson knew that the proposals he was going to send to the Hill would be divisive.

From The Daily Beast

So not only will the GOP have control in the Senate, it will move the center of gravity on Capitol Hill hard to starboard.

From The Daily Beast

But then the summit gives way to the other side of the hill, and a childlike glee arises from the whooooosh of the descent.

From The Daily Beast

There is an odd triangular-shaped hill that rises on one side very boldly and abruptly, called the Fox's Head.

From Project Gutenberg

It was all breeze and freshness, and the sunlight struck picturesquely aslant the hill-sides.

From Project Gutenberg

At last he came to quite a hill, on the summit of which grew a tree with branches close to the ground.

From Project Gutenberg

Newhall Hill used to be the favourite spot, and the first meeting held there was on January 22, 1817.

From Project Gutenberg

The characteristics of the different forms are well shown in the table on opposite page, modified from Hill.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bluff
• cliff
• dune
• highland
• hillside
• hilltop
• ridge
• slope