the Hill
54
4.2
- noun
- Literature
:
Capitol Hill
- The committee will present its findings on the Hill next week.
Examples
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The Senator has got a lot of pull up on the Hill.
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Tell us the news from the Hill.
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I worked on the Hill in Washington.
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I bet they miss you on the Hill.
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Go back to the Hill and show them that you can and will fight this bill.
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What were you doing up on the Hill, anyway?
Fiction book (1995) -
Josh and Sam cut a deal on the Hill.
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I got people up on the Hill talking impeachment.
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Democrats on the Hill should insist on up-or-down votes for provisions that the public wants.
Blog text (14) -
Rather than chase broad legislation on the Hill, lawyers are picking their battles—and winning.
Academic text (2001)
Synonyms
287
4.4
The area in Washington, D.C. where the United States Congress meets and works
5
3.9
The building in Washington, D.C. where Congress meets
2
3.9
A large government building in Washington DC where the Senate and House meet
2
4.8
A government building in Washington where the United States Congress meets
Surface Forms
Morphology
the + Hill
This is a culturally specific metonym: the capitalized phrase 'the Hill' refers to the U.S. Congress or the Capitol area, which is not inferable from the literal meanings of 'the' and 'hill' (a small raised area). Understanding this sense requires background knowledge of U.S. politics rather than compositional word knowledge, so a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words would not reliably derive the meaning.
Etymology
The Hill comes from the place called Capitol Hill, a small rise where the U.S. Capitol building sits. Because lawmakers and staff work there, people use the Hill to mean 'Congress' or the area where they meet.