promontory
Americannoun
plural
promontories-
a high point of land or rock projecting into the sea or other water beyond the line of coast; a headland.
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a bluff, or part of a plateau, overlooking a lowland.
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Anatomy. a prominent or protuberant part.
noun
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a high point of land, esp of rocky coast, that juts out into the sea
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anatomy any of various projecting structures
Etymology
Origin of promontory
First recorded in 1540–50, promontory is from the Latin word prōmontorium, prōmunturium, of unclear derivation
Explanation
A promontory is a high, rocky cliff jutting into a body of water. A promontory is just the kind of thing a heroine will threaten to throw herself off of if the love of her life does not return to her. A promontory can be a foreland, headland, or rocky cliff. Think Ireland’s Cliffs of Moher jutting into the sea. Connect promontory with prominent, "important or sticking out," project, "estimate forward" and protrude, "stick out," which also carry this sense of jutting out. In anatomy, promontory can refer to a projecting part of the body.
Vocabulary lists containing promontory
"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 1–7
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Geological Features
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Their Eyes Were Watching God
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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.
Most of the displaced are now sardined in the city’s quaint Old Quarter, which lies on a promontory jutting out of Tyre’s northernmost tip and is excluded from the evacuation order.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026
Artisanal makers of goat cheeses can be found along undulating roads through greenery that dead end at the foreboding promontory of Cabo Espichel.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
The city occupies a promontory overlooking the Irtysh River in northeastern Kazakhstan and was first recorded in the early 2000s.
From Science Daily • Dec. 5, 2025
A Turkish sponge diver in 1982 first reported spotting “metal biscuits with ears” off a rocky promontory known as Uluburun.
From New York Times • Jun. 20, 2024
From this promontory at 27,600 feet, the route veers sharply off the ridge to the south toward Camp Four.
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.
