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”

Example Sentences

Outside, the street leading to the building was buried under mounds of debris and foliage.

From Barron's

"Unfortunately, this gang was hidden behind a bank of high ground and I didn't see them until I skirted the mound and found myself just feet away from them."

From BBC

"Everyone could have survived -- only with injuries -- if it had been a mound of earth."

From Barron's

These concentrations are often referred to as "spikes" or "mounds."

From Science Daily

It revealed a Bronze Age barrow - an ancient burial mound - with the cremated bones of several people contained inside five closely-packed urns.

From BBC