molehill

[ mohl-hil ]

/ ˈmoʊlˌhɪl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR molehill ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a small mound or ridge of earth raised up by a mole or moles burrowing under the ground.

Words related to molehill

mountain, rise, hillock, shock, drift, dune, pile, bank, embankment, knoll, mass, stack, anthill, tumulus, paltriness, triviality, pettiness, nothingness, inconsequence, smallness

Words nearby molehill

molecular surgery, molecular volume, molecular weight, molecularity, molecule, molehill, moleskin, moleskins, molest, molet, molilalia

Idioms for molehill

make a mountain out of a molehill, to exaggerate a minor difficulty.

Origin of molehill

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at mole¹, hill

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for molehill

In both cases, the minority party on both committees thinks the majority is making a mountain out of a molehill.
From Waterboarding to Benghazi, CIA Faces Two-Front War by Congress|Eli Lake|April 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But is this merely a case of making a mountain out of a molehill—or is there a legitimate reason to be upset?
The Uproar Over No Doubt’s Native American Video Gaffe|Tricia Romano|November 6, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Few diplomatic events are more embarrassing than a summit that turns into a molehill.
The War Over the Global Stimulus|Stryker McGuire|March 13, 2009|DAILY BEAST
As regards his being over London, you've got to make a molehill out of that mountain, if it is a mountain.
A Case in Camera|Oliver Onions

If they continue to be the same, I shall think that we have been making a mountain of a molehill.
Grace Harlowe's First Year at Overton College|Jessie Graham Flower
A formal apology and reconciliation will, in his judgment, dignify the episode and make a mountain out of a molehill.
The Eugenic Marriage, Vol. 3 (of 4)|W. Grant Hague
As he looks, a little rivulet expands into an impassable gulf, and a molehill becomes a mountain.
The Religious Life of London|J. Ewing Ritchie
I soon found my pride was a molehill and my love a mountain.
Hard Cash|Charles Reade

British Dictionary definitions for molehill

molehill

/ (ˈməʊlˌhɪl) /

noun

the small mound of earth thrown up by a burrowing mole

make a mountain out of a molehill to exaggerate an unimportant matter out of all proportion

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

Idioms and Phrases with molehill

molehill

see make a mountain out of a molehill.