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molehill

molehill

11 2.8
A small pile of earth made by a mole under the ground
  • noun
  • /ˈmoʊlˌhɪl/
translation icon : montículo
  • The visible marks left by moles—molehills—surface in at least forty-five of Clare's middle-period poems.
  • make a molehill
  • mountains are molehills

Examples

Synonyms

mound
vsmolehill
40 1.7

A small raised area of earth or stones

is made when a burrowing animal pushes earth up from below
hummock
vsmolehill
1 8.7

A small rounded mound that rises above low ground

is a tiny surface rise produced by a burrowing animal, not a landscape feature

Idioms

Treat a small problem as if it were very serious

Compounds

9.9

A person who makes small problems seem much bigger

How Big

hill
1.0
mound
40 1.7
molehill
11 2.8
bump
118 2.5

Surface Forms

molehill singular
molehills plural

Morphology

molehill = mole + hill (transparent) = mole + hill

The meaning is a literal combination of 'mole' and 'hill' (a small mound created by a mole), which learners can derive from the components.

Etymology

The word molehill is simply mole 'a small animal that lives underground' plus hill 'a small raised area of ground'. So a molehill is the little mound a mole pushes up while it digs, which is why we call those small garden mounds 'molehills'.