mound builder

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noun

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of mound builder

First recorded in 1835–45

Other definitions for mound builder (2 of 2)

Mound Builder

noun

a member of one of the various American Indian tribes who, in prehistoric and early historic times, erected the burial mounds and other earthworks of the Mississippi drainage basin and southeastern U.S.

Origin of Mound Builder

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use mound builder in a sentence

The specimen shown in fig. 302 is quoted as a “typical example of the cross of the mound-builder.”
The Swastika|Thomas Wilson
Every skeleton of a Mound-Builder is found in a condition of extreme decay.
Ancient America, in Notes on American Archaeology|John D. Baldwin
Furthermore the mound builder used metal tools, and was probably a metal worker.
The Mound Builders|George Bryce
They resemble the brown mound-builder ant; the slaves are black.
Cornell Nature-Study Leaflets|Various

The professor closes his description with the remark: "The skeleton undoubtedly belonged to a veritable mound-builder."
Burial Mounds of the Northern Sections of the United States|Cyrus Thomas

British Dictionary definitions for mound builder (1 of 2)

mound-builder

noun

another name for megapode

British Dictionary definitions for mound builder (2 of 2)

Mound Builder

noun

a member of a group of prehistoric inhabitants of the Mississippi region who built altar-mounds, tumuli, etc

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