Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A small mound of loose earth raised by a burrowing mole.
- idiom. make a mountain out of a molehill To exaggerate a minor problem.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A little hill, hillock, mound, or ridge of earth thrown up by moles in burrowing underground. When moles are working near the surface in search of food, the hills become tortuous ridges which may be traced sometimes for many yards with little or no interruption.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A little hillock of earth thrown up by moles working under ground; hence, a very small hill, or an insignificant obstacle or difficulty.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a mound of earth made by moles while burrowing
Etymologies
- From mole + hill. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“As I said, the policy may be ineffectual and, therefore, misguided, but criticism that makes a mountain out of a molehill is also misguided.”
The Volokh Conspiracy » San Jose State University Continues to Suspend All Blood Drives on Campus
“The difference between a mountain and a molehill is your perspective.”
“In this fight, the Clinton camp is the more aggressive of the two, and it's adept at what might be called molehill politics: making a very big deal in the press about something that's a very small deal — such as a single word in a mailing or a slip-up by an aide.”
“I ascended this mountain, which might better be called a molehill, by a flight of a hundred and thirty steps.”
“Hey, Comrade Markey, this "molehill" was manufactured by your own "scientists" who themselves don't believe in global warming as is evidenced by their desperate need to "hide the decline.”
““Don't make mountain out of a molehill. .doesn't india's media have something else to report about???””
Global Voices in English » Nepal: Maternal Health Care Challenges
“I only have to make a molehill of it all by the end of the day.”
“IMHO, you are making a mountain out of a molehill.”
“A little surprised that you would accuse me of making a mountain out of a molehill over this.”
“You truly are making a mountain out of a little molehill here.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘molehill’.
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Hyperbole
Words with definitions that have "in hyperbole" or "by hyperbole" in them.
infinite, infinitely, eternal, fright, luxurious, example, tease, rail, jillion, trope, molehill
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snarkout's Words
agenbite, scandent, vulpine, ratel, corvid, magpie, meline, musteline, ecdysiast, waxwing, abecedarian, guillotine and 111 more...
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Words I like
This is a list of my favourite words (phrases) in english, as a second language. I love them mostly because of how they sound and their meaning.
ninja, cookie, skill, zip, plentiful, digg, debris, pancake, cucumber, fetch, pot, backpack and 461 more...
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ginnylev's Words
neuroplasticity, repudiate, scintilla, ruminate, tautology, ombudsman, exigent, filibuster, grace, ambidextrous, amends, disclosure and 623 more...
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The Hills Are Alive
Hill words. Also see over hill.
hill, hillock, tor, golgotha, butte, morro, brae, formicary, drumlin, sowback, barrow, foothill and 41 more...
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