mound
1 Americannoun
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a natural elevation of earth; a hillock or knoll.
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an artificial elevation of earth, as for a defense work or a dam or barrier; an embankment.
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a heap or raised mass.
a mound of papers;
a mound of hay.
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Baseball. the slightly raised ground from which the pitcher delivers the ball.
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an elevation formed of earth, sand, stones, etc., especially over a grave or ruins.
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a tumulus or other raised work of earth dating from a prehistoric or long-past period.
verb (used with object)
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to form into a mound; heap up.
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to furnish with a mound of earth, as for a defense.
noun
noun
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a raised mass of earth, debris, etc
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any heap or pile
a mound of washing
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a small natural hill
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archaeol another word for barrow 2
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an artificial ridge of earth, stone, etc, as used for defence
verb
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(often foll by up) to gather into a mound; heap
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(tr) to cover or surround with a mound
to mound a grave
noun
Other Word Forms
- unmounded adjective
Etymology
Origin of mound1
First recorded in 1505–15; of obscure origin; noun “hedge or fence used as a boundary or protection,” verb “to enclose with a fence”; compare Old English mund “hand,” hence “protection, protector”; cognate with Old Norse mund “hand,” Middle Dutch mond “protection”
Origin of mound2
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English mounde, mundie, from Old French monde, munde, from Latin mundus “world”
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 said he’s progressing, but has only been throwing on flat ground, not off the mound.
From Los Angeles Times
“In the bullpen, I felt pretty good about the forkball but once I got on the mound, it didn’t go well,” Sasaki said.
From Los Angeles Times
If only the pixies would show me a mound of gold in the earth, then maybe it wouldn’t matter that I was small.
From Literature
They turned out to be mounds of feathers, left in an area called Marine Bird Land.
From BBC
Council workers then flatten the huge mounds of sand to create an inland beach, ready for the first games on Friday.
From BBC
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.
