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mountain
[ moun-tn ]
/ ˈmaʊn tn /
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This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
noun
adjective
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ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?
We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.
Question 1 of 8
Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?
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Idioms about mountain
make a mountain out of a molehill. molehill (def. 2).
Origin of mountain
1175–1225; Middle English mountaine<Old French montaigne<Vulgar Latin *montānea, noun use of feminine of *montāneus, equivalent to Latin montān(us) mountainous (mont-, stem of mōns mountain + -ānus-an) + -eus adj. suffix
OTHER WORDS FROM mountain
moun·tain·less, adjectivesub·moun·tain, adjectiveun·der·moun·tain, nounWords nearby mountain
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
How to use mountain in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for mountain (1 of 2)
mountain
/ (ˈmaʊntɪn) /
noun
- a natural upward projection of the earth's surface, higher and steeper than a hill and often having a rocky summit
- (as modifier)mountain people; mountain scenery
- (in combination)a mountaintop
a huge heap or massa mountain of papers
anything of great quantity or size
a surplus of a commodity, esp in the European Unionthe butter mountain
a mountain to climb British informal a serious or considerable difficulty or obstruction to overcome
make a mountain out of a molehill See molehill (def. 2)
Word Origin for mountain
C13: from Old French montaigne, from Vulgar Latin montānea (unattested) mountainous, from Latin montānus, from mons mountain
British Dictionary definitions for mountain (2 of 2)
Mountain
/ (ˈmaʊntɪn) /
noun
the Mountain an extremist faction during the French Revolution led by Danton and Robespierre
Word Origin for Mountain
C18: so called because its members sat in the highest row of seats at the National Convention Hall in 1793
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
Scientific definitions for mountain
mountain
[ moun′tən ]
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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with mountain
mountain
see if the mountain won't come to Muhammad; make a mountain out of a molehill.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.