mountain

[moun-tn]

noun

1. a natural elevation of the earth's surface rising more or less abruptly to a summit, and attaining an altitude greater than that of a hill, usually greater than 2,000 feet (610 meters).

2. a large mass of something resembling this, as in shape or size.

3. a huge amount.

   a mountain of incoming mail.

4. (initial capital letter),  a steam locomotive having a four-wheeled front truck, eight driving wheels, and a two-wheeled rear truck.

5. Also called mountain wine. British Archaic.,  a sweet Malaga wine.

adjective

1. of or relating to mountains.

   mountain air.

2. living, growing, or located in the mountains.

   mountain people.

3. resembling or suggesting a mountain, as in size.

Mountain

¹

/ ˈmaʊntɪn /

noun

1. an extremist faction during the French Revolution led by Danton and Robespierre

mountain

²

/ ˈmaʊntɪn /

noun

1. 1. a natural upward projection of the earth's surface, higher and steeper than a hill and often having a rocky summit

   2. ( as modifier )

      mountain people

      mountain scenery

   3. ( in combination )

      a mountaintop

2. a huge heap or mass

   a mountain of papers

3. anything of great quantity or size

4. a surplus of a commodity, esp in the European Union

   the butter mountain

5. informal,  a serious or considerable difficulty or obstruction to overcome

6. See molehill

mountain

1. A generally massive and usually steep-sided, raised portion of the Earth's surface. Mountains can occur as single peaks or as part of a long chain. They can form through volcanic activity, by erosion, or by uplift of the continental crust when two tectonic plates collide. The Himalayas, which are the highest mountains in the world, were formed when the plate carrying the landmass of India collided with the plate carrying the landmass of China.

Other Word Forms

• mountainless adjective
• submountain adjective
• undermountain noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of mountain¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English mountaine, from Old French montaigne, from Vulgar Latin montānea (unrecorded), noun use of feminine of montāneus (unrecorded), from Latin montān(us) “mountainous” (from mont-, stem of mōns “hill, mountain” + -ānus -an ) + -eus, adjective suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of mountain¹

C18: so called because its members sat in the highest row of seats at the National Convention Hall in 1793

Origin of mountain²

C13: from Old French montaigne, from Vulgar Latin montānea (unattested) mountainous, from Latin montānus, from mons mountain

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. make a mountain out of a molehill. molehill.

see if the mountain won't come to Muhammad; make a mountain out of a molehill.

Example Sentences

The expedition to recover the deepest ice samples ever extracted from the Pamir, one of the world's highest and least-studied mountain ranges, aims to give scientists access to one of the planet's oldest climate archives.

Read more on Barron's

During World War II, he was among the elite scientists recruited to a secret lab called Los Alamos, in the mountains of New Mexico.

Read more on Literature

Now they could see the mountain, and the forests, and the white slash of the waterfall.

Read more on Literature

In 2001, the company filed for bankruptcy, undone by competition, inefficiency and a mountain of pension obligations.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

She remembers her childhood during the second intifada, or uprising, when she couldn’t attend birthday parties because of Israeli checkpoint closures, and driving through mountain passes permeated by the smell of tear gas.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• alp 
• bluff 
• butte 
• cliff 
• crag 
• elevation 
• eminence 
• height 
• mesa 
• mount 
• palisade 
• peak 
• pike 
• precipice 
• range 
• ridge 
• sierra 
• tor 
• volcano