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hogback

hogback

1 9.9
A long narrow ridge with steep sides that looks like an animal's curved back
  • noun
  • /ˈhɔɡˌbæk/
  • Specialized
translation icon : cima de jabalí
  • Hadley could see that her suggestion that Netta leave Hogback Hill had made Netta uncomfortable.
  • hogback ridge
  • top of the hogback
  • side of the hogback

Examples

  • "Well," she said, "Josh and I have to go up Hogback Hill in a little while."

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Maybe if she went up Hogback Hill with Josh, she wouldn't have to be afraid anymore.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • "If a stranger kept coming to town to go up Hogback Hill, someone would have noticed.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • "About us going up Hogback Hill, of course," answered Josh.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • How many nights had she looked up at Hogback Hill, wondering about its secrets?

    Fiction book (1993)
  • "So, anyway," Josh continued, "about Hogback Hill, do you really think there's somebody up there?"

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Hadley woke up early Saturday morning, filled with eagerness to return to Hogback Hill.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • So they climbed back on their ponies and began to follow the hogback trail up to the second flute player.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Netta's cats, the wild birds, deer, rabbits, and coyotes who shared Hogback Hill with Netta.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • The hikers enjoyed a breathtaking view from the top of the hogback that resembled the back of a hog.

Synonyms

horseback
vshogback
1 8.4

A narrow ridge of hills with a thin top

is a long narrow ridge with notably steep sides

How Steep

cliff
438 1.0
escarpment
3 8.2
hogback
  • Specialized
1 9.9
to ridge
4 6.0
gentle
27 1.0

Surface Forms

hogback singular
hogbacks plural

Morphology

hogback = hog + back (transparent) = hog + back

A clear compound of 'hog' + 'back' where the sense is literally a back-shaped ridge resembling a hog's back.

Etymology

The word hogback comes from the two plain words hog ('pig') and back, because a long, narrow ridge looks like the rounded back of a pig. That's why a hogback means a long, narrow ridge with steep sides.