- 1 a very high hill, often with rocks near the top a chain/range of mountains to climb a mountain We spent a week walking in the mountains. to enjoy the mountain air/scenery mountain roads/streams/villages a mountain rescue team There is still snow on the mountain tops. Wordfindermountainaltitude, foothill, mountain, peak, precipice, ridge, slope, summit, valley, volcano Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivebig, great, high, … … of mountainschain, range verb + mountainascend, climb, come up, … mountain + verbrise, soar, tower, … mountain + nounchain, range, area, … prepositionacross the mountain, over the mountain, through the mountain, … phrasesthe flank of a mountain, the side of a mountain, the slope of a mountain, … See full entry See related entries: Other geographic regions, Mountains and valleys
- 2mountain of something (informal) a very large amount or number of something a mountain of work We made mountains of sandwiches. the problem of Europe’s butter mountain (= the large amount of butter that has to be stored because it is not needed) Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivegreat, massive, debt, … verb + mountaingenerate, reduce, face, … phrasesa mountain of paper, a mountain of paperwork See full entry Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French montaigne, based on Latin mons, mont- ‘mountain’.Extra examples Between the two towns was 50 miles of mountain country. Many people come simply to enjoy the fresh mountain air. Many people come to the resort simply to enjoy the fresh mountain air. Mountains loom in the distance. She arranged to meet the others halfway up the mountain. The earth tremor made the mountains shake. The enquiry generated a mountain of paperwork. The invading army could only penetrate the mountain barrier at one point. The mountains fall to the east to the flat expanse of the plateau. The mountains here rise to well over 2 000 m. The school was facing a mountain of debt. The surrounding mountains make the city difficult to evacuate. They revealed a solution to reduce Europe’s butter mountain. This type of goat lives high up in the mountains. Towering mountains surrounded the town. We crossed the rugged mountain heights. We enjoy walking in the mountains. a chain/range of mountains a large window overlooking the mountains a mountain-rescue team a pass through the mountains the holy mountain of the Lapp community We spent a week walking in the mountains. We stopped to enjoy the mountain scenery. mountain roads/streams/villagesIdioms
noun jump to other results
BrE BrE//ˈmaʊntən//; NAmE NAmE//ˈmaʊntn//
Other geographic regions, Mountains and valleys
(disapproving) to make an unimportant matter seem important
Check pronunciation: mountain
