hill

The word “hill” means a raised area of land, smaller and less steep than a mountain. In plain terms, a small raised landform, or, informally, a slope; also baseball slang for the pitcher's mound.

“Hill” is pronounced hih ([hɪɫ] in IPA).

Here is “hill” used in a sentence: “The village sits at the foot of a gentle hill.”

Depending on how it is used, “hill” can be a noun and a verb.

The word “hill” comes from Old English. From Old English hyll, tracing back through Proto-Germanic to a very old Indo-European root meaning "top" or "rock" — related to the word "holm.".

“Hill” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

“Hill” has 4 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a raised area of land, smaller and less steep than a mountain.

Both are raised areas of land, but a mountain is taller, steeper, and more dramatic, while a hill is lower and more gently sloped. There is no strict height that separates them, though mountains are often said to rise above about 600 metres. In practice, the distinction depends on local tradition as much as measurement.

There is no official height for a hill. Historically some definitions capped hills at around 300 metres, above which land was called a mountain, but this rule is no longer strict. What counts as a hill depends on the surrounding landscape — a modest rise can seem like a hill on otherwise flat ground.

A foothill is a low hill at the base of a mountain or mountain range, forming a transition between flat land and higher peaks. Foothills are usually gentler and lower than the mountains behind them. The word is often used in the plural, as in the foothills of the Alps or the Himalayas.