mountain pass
8
3.2
- noun
- /ˈmaʊntən pæs/
:
puerto de montaña
- The hikers carefully navigated the steep mountain pass, enjoying the stunning views around them.
- high mountain pass
- snow-covered mountain passes
- snowy mountain pass
And there will be a Taiwanese dude with a rifle behind every blade of grass in every single mountain pass if China tries to invade.
- And there will be a Taiwanese dude with a rifle behind every blade of grass in every single mountain pass if China tries to invade.
Examples
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The Kancamagus Highway reaches its high point at a mountain pass, where most of the forest consists of red spruce and balsam fir, with scattered heart-leaved paper birches.
Academic text (1998) -
If we can clear the secret tunnel, our people can reach the mountain pass.
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Okay, we should go to that mountain pass.
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As I was saying, there it was, the final mountain pass.
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We're taking the mountain pass.
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Tell the women and children to make for the mountain pass.
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And you take the mountain pass as far as you can go.
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As the scouts approach the mountain pass, the forests begin to clear.
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We'll stop for water and push for the mountain pass by nightfall.
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A VTOL aircraft had made its way through the mountain pass to the north and was coming in for a landing.
Fiction book (1991)
Synonyms
159
4.9
A low point between mountains used as a route
14
6.8
A narrow pass between two mountain peaks
A tunnel or road that crosses a mountain range
How Narrow
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a navigable route through a mountain range' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'mountain' (high natural landform) with 'pass' (a low, traversable point). This compositional N+N pattern is cross-linguistically common and follows normal English compound semantics, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand it.
Etymology
Mountain pass: The name mountain pass comes from the simple image of a low gap between high peaks where people and animals could pass through the mountain instead of walking over the top. So it means 'a route through a mountain'.