mountaineer
Americannoun
-
an inhabitant of a mountainous district.
-
a climber of mountains, especially for sport.
verb (used without object)
noun
-
a person who climbs mountains
-
a person living in a mountainous area
verb
Other Word Forms
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 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
Pistono, an experienced mountaineer, had just skied the same run and was preparing to head back up to do it again.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 17, 2025
Kami Rita's feat comes one week after British mountaineer Kenton Cool summited Everest for the 19th time, also breaking his own record for the most climbs for a non-sherpa.
From BBC • May 27, 2025
Early the following morning Edmund Hillary, a rangy New Zealander, and Tenzing Norgay, a highly skilled Sherpa mountaineer, set out for the top breathing bottled oxygen.
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.
