adjective
-
of or relating to mountains
a mountainous region
-
like a mountain, esp in size or impressiveness
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of mountainous
First recorded in 1400–50, mountainous is from the late Middle English word mounteynous. See mountain, -ous
Vocabulary lists containing mountainous
South America - Middle School
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Eastern Europe - Introductory
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East Asia - Middle School
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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.
After Tony Dunn lost his home in a California wildfire, he moved to mountainous North Carolina to avoid more climate disasters.
From Barron's • May 11, 2026
The 22-mile event began in 1980 after a pub chat discussing whether man or horse was faster crossing mountainous terrain.
From BBC • May 10, 2026
Those infections mostly occur in rural or mountainous areas.
From MarketWatch • May 6, 2026
He returned home briefly to pack more things, and the couple headed farther north, to Kelardasht, a mountainous city closer to the Caspian Sea.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 27, 2026
It’s hard to fly in a mountainous area.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
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.
