molehill

[ mohl-hil ]

/ ˈmoʊlˌhɪl /

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noun

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

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Idioms about 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

Words nearby molehill

molecular volume, molecular weight, molecule, mole drain, mole fraction, molehill, mole mapping, mole plow, mole rat, mole run, moleskin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use molehill in a sentence

No matter his audience, Roman always came back to the argument that invasivorism could turn unwanted mountains of exotics into manageable molehills.
Welcome to invasivorism, the boldest solution to ethical eating yet|Matt Hongoltz-Hetling|December 7, 2021|Popular-Science
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
It is the rawest example yet of our 2013, Twitter-loving, insta-pundit, mountain-out-of-a-molehill media culture.
The Anne Hathaway Hatred Is Out of Control|Kevin Fallon|March 4, 2013|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

From a policy point of view, it seems a ludicrous molehill to struggle over.
THAT'S the Obama Second Term Agenda?!|David Frum|July 10, 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
Gran'ma said they were making a mounting out of a molehill—and expelling people did the school no good.
The Open Question|Elizabeth Robins
Call it, great lady, by another name; An humble modesty, that would not matchA molehill with Olympus.
The Plays of Philip Massinger|Philip Massinger
She wondered why he, who did not usually trouble over trifles, made such a mountain of this molehill.
Sons and Lovers|David Herbert Lawrence
To "remind us of Dickens" would be as difficult for many modern novelists as for a molehill to remind us of the Matterhorn.
Essays on Modern Novelists|William Lyon Phelps
There is also such a thing as making nothing out of a molehill, in consequence of your head being too high to see it.
The Moonstone|Wilkie Collins

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with molehill

molehill

see make a mountain out of a molehill.

molehill

Idioms about molehill

Origin of molehill

Words nearby molehill

Words related to molehill

How to use molehill in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for molehill

Other Idioms and Phrases with molehill