mount

¹ American  

[mount] / maʊnt /

verb (used with object)

• mounts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• mounted,
  past participle,  past
• mounting
  present participle

1. to go up; climb; ascend.

   to mount stairs.

   Synonyms:

   scale

   Antonyms:

   descend

2. to get up on (a platform, a horse, etc.).

3. to set or place at an elevation.

   to mount a house on stilts.

4. to furnish with a horse or other animal for riding.

5. to set or place (a person) on horseback.

6. to organize, as an army.

7. to prepare and launch, as an attack or a campaign.

8. to raise or put into position for use, as a gun.

9. (of a fortress or warship) to have or carry (guns) in position for use.

10. to go or put on guard, as a sentry or watch.

11. to attach to or fix on or in a support, backing, setting, etc..

    to mount a photograph; to mount a diamond in a ring.

12. to arrange for display.

    to mount a museum exhibit.

13. to provide (a play, musical comedy, opera, etc.) with scenery, costumes, and other equipment for production.

14. to prepare (an animal body or skeleton) as a specimen.

15. (of a male animal) to climb upon (a female) for copulation.

16. Microscopy.

    1. to prepare (a slide) for microscopic investigation.

    2. to prepare (a sample) for examination by a microscope, as by placing it on a slide.

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verb (used without object)

• mounts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• mounted,
  past participle,  past
• mounting
  present participle

1. to increase in amount or intensity (often followed byup ).

   The cost of all those small purchases mounts up.

2. to get up on the back of a horse or other animal for riding.

3. to rise or go to a higher position, level, degree, etc.; ascend.

   Synonyms:

   soar

4. to get up on something, as a platform.

noun

1. the act or a manner of mounting.

2. a horse, other animal, or sometimes a vehicle, as a bicycle, used, provided, or available for riding.

   Synonyms:

   palfrey, charger, steed, horse

3. an act or occasion of riding a horse, especially in a race.

4. a support, backing, setting, or the like, on or in which something is, or is to be, mounted or fixed.

5. an ornamental metal piece applied to a piece of wooden furniture.

6. Microscopy. a prepared slide.

7. a distinctive metal feature on a sheath or scabbard, as a locket or chape.

8. Philately. hinge.

9. Printing. a wooden or metal block to which a plate is secured for printing.

mount ² American  

[mount] / maʊnt /

noun

Chiefly Literary.

1. a mountain: often used as part of a placename.

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mount ¹ British  

/ maʊnt /

verb

1. to go up (a hill, stairs, etc); climb

2. to get up on (a horse, a platform, etc)

3. io increase; accumulate

   excitement mounted

4. (tr) to fix onto a backing, setting, or support

   to mount a photograph

   to mount a slide

5. (tr) to provide with a horse for riding, or to place on a horse

6. (of male animals) to climb onto (a female animal) for copulation

7. (tr) to prepare (a play, musical comedy, etc) for production

8. (tr) to plan and organize (a compaign, an exhibition, etc)

9. (tr) military to prepare or launch (an operation)

   the Allies mounted an offensive

10. (tr) to prepare (a skeleton, dead animal, etc) for exhibition as a specimen

11. (tr) to place or carry (weapons) in such a position that they can be fired

12. See guard

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noun

1. a backing, setting, or support onto which something is fixed

2. the act or manner of mounting

3. a horse for riding

4. a slide used in microscopy

5. philately

   1. a small transparent pocket in an album for a postage stamp

   2. another word for hinge

mount ² British  

/ maʊnt /

noun

1. a mountain or hill: used in literature and (when cap.) in proper names

   Mount Everest

2. (in palmistry) any of the seven cushions of flesh on the palm of the hand

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Synonym Usage

See climb.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• mounter
  noun
• mountable
  adjective
• mountless
  adjective
• unmountable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• mounting
  present
• mounted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• mount
  simple
• mounts
  simple
• have mounted
  perfect
• has mounted
  perfect
• am mounting
  progressive
• are mounting
  progressive
• is mounting
  progressive
• have been mounting
  perfect progressive
• has been mounting
  perfect progressive

Past

• mounted
  simple
• had mounted
  perfect
• was mounting
  progressive
• were mounting
  progressive
• had been mounting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will mount
  simple
• will have mounted
  perfect
• will be mounting
  progressive
• will have been mounting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of mount¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English mounten, from Old French munter, monter, Vulgar Latin (unattested) montāre, derivative of Latin mont- (stem of mōns ) mount ²

Origin of mount²

First recorded before 900; Middle English mount(e), mont, munt(e), Old English munt “mount, hill, mountain,” from Latin mont- (inflectional stem of mōns ) “mountain, hill”

Explanation

To mount is to climb up something, like a ladder, or get on the back of something, like a horse. You can also mount something on another object, like a camera on a tripod or a sticker on a notebook. The word mountain can help you remember that one way to mount is to climb. You can mount a mountain or a flight of stairs. You can also mount a pony by getting on its back or a bicycle by climbing onto it. The oldest meaning of mount is, in fact, "mountain," from the Old French word mont, which has its root in the Latin montem for “mountain."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mount mounts mounted mounting

The S&P 500 was trading only marginally below its record highs on Friday, as stocks brushed off early weakness to mount a late-day comeback.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 27, 2026

The treatment also appeared to create conditions that helped aging skin mount a stronger regenerative response.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026

The new law meant Quaye could no longer ask for a review of his minimum term and the 29-year-old remains in prison, prompting him to mount a legal challenge.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

The Dodgers’ offense used that time to mount a lead.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026

I watched him mount his horse and ride away.

From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson

Apple is closing in on a major milestone as excitement mounts for the company’s new iPhones and artificial-intelligence strategy.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026

What do you do when a creative team mounts an acclaimed production of a beloved play, breaking box office records as one of the most successful shows in your theater’s more than 100-year history?

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

Her disclosure came as speculation mounts over her political future.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

For that you receive about 20 prints with various mounts and frames of two images, one of the graduate and another with friends and family.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

While San Franciscans were reading his obituary in several papers, the decidedly undead Neves rode like a man possessed, finishing second or third on all five of his mounts.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

A grand prize of $10,000 and a mounted catfish trophy were at stake.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

Oil futures surged $4.44, or 4.4% to $105.83 a barrel as concerns mounted about the ability of one of the world’s largest exporters, Saudi Arabia, to get its crude to market.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

Then, they mounted a 10-play drive, and Maiava found Bowman again.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026

Among them is what he describes as a "fire organ tractor trailer", an organ that shoots flames and is mounted on the back of a lawnmower.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

Cook and Henry both erupted into motion, Henry heading upstairs toward the bedrooms, Cook to the black telephone mounted on the wall near the back door.

From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland

There is also mounting evidence from the geological record that when eukaryotes were first evolving, oxygen was likely much scarcer.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 27, 2026

But then a manic spell of four yellow cards in nine minutes left the hosts overrun, with South Africa mounting a comeback that ultimately fell just short.

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026

The problem: mounting food, labor and now fuel costs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026

Long Beach has been working toward this vision since it adopted its bicycle master plan 25 years ago, now with mounting urgency as auto-related fatalities rise.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

Invasion fever is mounting daily throughout the country.

From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank

Related Words

• build
• escalate
• expand
• heighten
• intensify
• rise