- 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 mass: a mountain of papers
- anything of great quantity or size
- a surplus of a commodity, esp in the European Union: the butter mountain
- make a mountain out of a molehill ⇒
See molehill
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
moun•tain /ˈmaʊntən/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
adj. [before a noun]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Geographya natural high piece of land rising more or less quickly to a high point:We climbed up the mountain for several days.
- a large mass or heap;
pile:a mountain of papers on my desk. - a huge amount:a mountain of work to do.
adj. [before a noun]
- of or relating to mountains:The mountain people are fiercely independent.
- Idioms make a mountain out of a molehill, to make a minor difficulty seem much worse than it really is:It's only a small bruise; don't make a mountain out of a molehill.
moun•tain
(moun′tn),USA pronunciation n.
adj.
moun′tain•less, adj.
- Geographya natural elevation of the earth's surface rising more or less abruptly to a summit, and attaining an altitude greater than that of a hill, usually greater than 2000 ft. (610 m).
- a large mass of something resembling this, as in shape or size.
- a huge amount:a mountain of incoming mail.
- Rail Transport(cap.) a steam locomotive having a four-wheeled front truck, eight driving wheels, and a two-wheeled rear truck. See table under Whyte classification.
- Also called moun′tain wine′. [Brit. Archaic.]a sweet Malaga wine.
- make a mountain out of a molehill. See molehill (def. 2).
adj.
- of or pertaining to mountains:mountain air.
- living, growing, or located in the mountains:mountain people.
- resembling or suggesting a mountain, as in size.
- Vulgar Latin *montānea, noun, nominal use of feminine of *montāneus, equivalent. to Latin montān(us) mountainous (mont-, stem of mōns mountain + -ānus -an) + -eus adjective, adjectival suffix
- Old French montaigne
- Middle English mountaine 1175–1225
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
mountain /ˈmaʊntɪn/ n
'mountain' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Aconcagua
- Adams
- Adirondack Mountains
- Admiralty Range
- adventure racing
- aiguille
- Ala Dağ
- Alai
- Alaska Range
- Albert Edward
- Allegheny Mountains
- Allen
- alp
- alpenstock
- alpine
- alpinist
- Alps
- Altai Mountains
- altitude sickness
- amount
- Anadyr
- Andes
- Aneto
- Antarctica
- Anti-Lebanon
- Aoraki/Mount Cook
- aoudad
- Apennines
- Apo
- Appalachian
- Appalachian Mountains
- Aragats
- Arakan Yoma
- Ararat
- Armageddon
- ash
- Asia
- Atlas Mountains
- Australian Alps
- avalanche
- avens
- Baldwin
- Balkan Mountains
- barrow
- Barry Mountains
- belay
- Ben Lomond
- Ben Nevis
- Berchtesgaden
- berg