molehill

American  

[mohl-hil] / ˈmoʊlˌhɪl /

noun

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

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idioms

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

molehill British  

/ ˈməʊlˌhɪl /

noun

1. the small mound of earth thrown up by a burrowing mole

2. to exaggerate an unimportant matter out of all proportion

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molehill More Idioms  

1. see make a mountain out of a molehill.

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Etymology

Origin of molehill

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; mole ¹, hill

Example Sentences

Pardon me, but I resented being called a molehill almost as much as being called a rat.

From Literature

And some of his most unexpected laughs are in his own mixing up of mountains and molehills.

From New York Times

When the mass of several suns is compressed into an orb that is 10 km in diameter, extreme gravity crushes mountains of superdense material into molehills that are millimeters tall.

From Scientific American

Shame on people for making a mountain out of a molehill.

From Washington Post

I've got three ingredients in my potting compost: one-third compost, one-third rotten down leaf mold, and one-third loam that I've got from molehills in my field is perfect.

From Salon