hill S2 W2 /hɪl/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: hyll ]
1 . an area of land that is higher than the land around it, like a mountain but smaller ⇨ uphill , downhill :
Their house is on a hill overlooking the sea.
A cart was making its way up the hill.
2 . a slope on a road:
There’s a steep hill ahead.
⇨ ↑ downhill , ↑ uphill
3 . the Hill American English ↑ Capitol Hill
4 . over the hill no longer young, and therefore no longer attractive or good at doing things:
Kathleen thinks she’s over the hill, but she’s only 32.
5 . it doesn’t amount to a hill of beans American English spoken it is not important
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COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ steep
She pushed her bicycle up the steep hill.
▪ rolling/gentle hills (=hills with slopes that are not steep)
He loved the green rolling hills of Dorset.
▪ a long hill
The bus started going up the long hill into town.
■ verbs
▪ climb a hill (=walk or drive up a hill)
She climbed the hill out of the village.
▪ go down a hill
It's best to use a low gear when you are going down steep hills.
■ phrases
▪ the top of a hill
The view from the top of the hill was beautiful.
▪ the brow/crest of a hill (=the top part of a hill)
A tank appeared over the brow of the hill.
▪ the bottom/foot of a hill
The house was at the bottom of a hill.
■ hill + NOUN
▪ a hill town
the hill towns of Tuscany
▪ hill country (=a rural area where there are a lot of hills)
the rough hill country on the Welsh border
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THESAURUS
▪ mountain a very high hill:
the highest mountain in Austria
▪ hill an area of land that is higher than the land around it, which is like a mountain but smaller and usually has a rounded top:
We went for a walk in the hills.
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The house is surrounded by woods, farmland and gentle hills.
▪ Mount ( also Mt written abbreviation ) used in the names of mountains. Don’t say ‘Fuji Mountain’ – say ‘Mount Fuji’ :
Mount Everest
▪ cliff the steep side of an area of land, often next to the sea:
the white cliffs of Dover
▪ precipice especially literary a very steep and dangerous cliff:
They were standing on the edge of a precipice.
▪ crag a high steep rock or mountain:
An eagle sailed over the high crags.
▪ ridge a long narrow area of high ground, especially at the top of a mountain:
I could see a group of climbers high up on a ridge.
▪ knoll a small round hill:
a grassy knoll
▪ volcano a mountain with a large hole at the top, through which ↑ lava (=hot liquid rock) is sometimes forced out:
the eruption of a volcano
▪ summit the very highest point of a mountain:
the summit of Mt Everest
▪ peak especially literary the top of a mountain:
the snow-covered peaks of the Himalayas
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a distant peak
▪ range/chain a group of mountains or hills arranged in a line:
the mountain range that is part of the border between Norway and Sweden
▪ foothills a group of smaller hills below a range of high mountains:
the Sierra foothills