mountaineer
Americannoun
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an inhabitant of a mountainous district.
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a climber of mountains, especially for sport.
verb (used without object)
noun
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a person who climbs mountains
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a person living in a mountainous area
verb
Other Word Forms
- mountaineering noun
Etymology
Origin of mountaineer
Explanation
A mountaineer is a person who climbs or hikes mountains. If you live in Colorado and spend your weekends scaling peaks in the Rockies, you're a mountaineer. The term mountaineer might seem to imply a serious climber, like Tensing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary, the mountaineers who were the first, in 1953, to climb to the summit of Mt. Everest. You can also use this word, however, for a more casual hiker who does a little rock climbing and mountain hiking. In many European countries, the word alpinist is more common.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He was chosen for the expedition by its leader, Swiss mountaineer Norman Dyhrenfurth, because of his experience in climbing under icy conditions, including numerous summits of Mt.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026
The Chiefs moving from one Kansas City to the other brought to my mind that “Beverly Hillbillies” scene where Jed Clampett accidentally strikes oil, instantly making a millionaire of the poor mountaineer.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 28, 2025
The park is essentially "providing all of the services without collecting fees, so they're losing money, which seems bad," said 29-year-old mountaineer Jack Taylor.
From Barron's • Nov. 1, 2025
The mountaineer and her team managed to get their injured friends to safety, with the help of a satellite call to Kirsty's sister, a pharmacist.
From BBC • Aug. 30, 2025
The last—Everest—proved elusive, however, and in March 1994 Pittman lost the race to a forty-seven-year-old Alaskan mountaineer and midwife named Dolly Lefever.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
