mound

¹ American  

[mound] / maʊnd /

noun

1. a natural elevation of earth; a hillock or knoll.

2. an artificial elevation of earth, as for a defense work or a dam or barrier; an embankment.

3. a heap or raised mass.

   a mound of papers;

   a mound of hay.

4. Baseball. the slightly raised ground from which the pitcher delivers the ball.

5. an elevation formed of earth, sand, stones, etc., especially over a grave or ruins.

6. a tumulus or other raised work of earth dating from a prehistoric or long-past period.

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verb (used with object)

1. to form into a mound; heap up.

2. to furnish with a mound of earth, as for a defense.

mound ² American  

[mound] / maʊnd /

noun

1. a globe topped with a cross that symbolizes power and constitutes part of the regalia of an English sovereign.

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mound ¹ British  

/ maʊnd /

noun

1. a raised mass of earth, debris, etc

2. any heap or pile

   a mound of washing

3. a small natural hill

4. archaeol another word for barrow 2

5. an artificial ridge of earth, stone, etc, as used for defence

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verb

1. (often foll by up) to gather into a mound; heap

2. (tr) to cover or surround with a mound

   to mound a grave

mound ² British  

/ maʊnd /

noun

1. heraldry a rare word for orb

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Other Word Forms

• unmounded
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of mound¹

First recorded in 1505–15; of obscure origin; noun “hedge or fence used as a boundary or protection,” verb “to enclose with a fence”; compare Old English mund “hand,” hence “protection, protector”; cognate with Old Norse mund “hand,” Middle Dutch mond “protection”

Origin of mound²

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English mounde, mundie, from Old French monde, munde, from Latin mundus “world”

Explanation

A mound is a heap or a pile of material or objects. You can make a mound of clothes by dumping your laundry onto your bed. The noun mound is occasionally used to mean "a hill," but it most often describes a manmade pile, like a mound of stones or a mound of sand heaped on the beach, or a mound of snow that you sculpt into a rabbit. On a baseball diamond, the pitcher's mound is the little rise on which the pitcher stands to throw the ball. As a verb, mound means to pile something into a heaped shape.

Example Sentences

“And the event wasn’t supposed to be about you, really. But there you are, standing on a mound, the baseball in your hand, everybody wondering what’s going to happen next.”

From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026

If Lesch had come along 10 years later, when rotator cuff surgeries were common, he might have returned to the mound.

From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2026

On the mound, starter Justin Wrobleski shut down a Rockies team that just scored a combined 13 runs on their two wins against the Dodgers.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 20, 2026

And a California kid on the mound, battling the inclement elements, this time beating the 35-degree chill.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026

With the sun resting above the peaks, the wooden skeleton of the great ship stood out sharply against the mound which nearly enveloped it.

From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander