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mound

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mound¹

  • /maʊnd/

Rhymes with -aʊnd

Where it comes from

From earlier meaning "hedge, fence", from Middle English mound, mund (“protection, boundary, raised earthen rampart”), from Old English mund (“hand, hand of protection, protector, guardianship”), from Proto-West Germanic *mundu, from Proto-Germanic *mundō (“hand”), *munduz (“protection, patron”), from Proto-Indo-European *mh₂-nt-éh₂ (“the beckoning one”), from *(s)meh₂- (“to beckon”).

Cognate with Old Frisian mund (“guardianship”), Middle Dutch mond (“protection”), Old High German munt (“hand, protection”) German Mündel (“ward”), Vormund (“guardian”)), Icelandic and Old Norse mund (“hand”), and possibly Latin manus (“hand”), Ancient Greek μάρη (márē, “hand”). Not related to mount.

noun mounds

  1. An artificial hill or elevation of earth; a raised bank; an embankment thrown up for defense

    Similar: bulwark, rampart

  2. A natural elevation appearing as if thrown up artificially; a regular and isolated hill, hillock, or knoll.

    Similar: earthen mound

  3. An elevated area of dirt upon which the pitcher stands to pitch. The pitcher was waiting at the mound.

    Similar: pitcher's mound

  4. A ball or globe forming part of the regalia of an emperor or other sovereign. It is encircled with bands, enriched with precious stones, and surmounted with a cross.

    Similar: globus cruciger, globe, orb

  5. US, slang, vulgar The mons veneris.
  6. slang, vulgar A woman's breast. […] the men were now also massaging her mounds, their fingers soothing and kneading while they sucked at her aching nipples.
  7. figuratively, obsolete A hand.
  8. obsolete A protection; restraint; curb.
  9. obsolete A helmet.
  10. obsolete Might; size.
  11. A large amount of something. a mound of mashed potato

verb mounds · mounding · mounded

  1. transitive To fortify with a mound; add a barrier, rampart, etc. to.

    Similar: bank, bank up, bulwark, rampart

  2. transitive To force or pile into a mound or mounds. He mounded up his mashed potatoes so they left more space on the plate for the meat.

    Similar: heap up

  3. intransitive To form a mound. When a wave mounds on the outside and takes its shape, a surfer quickly paddles to the peak, positions himself in its evolving momentum, swings his board around, aligns with the peak, and thrusts himself into its cascading shape.

Similar: pile

Mound²

Where it comes from

From mound.

proper noun

  1. A township in Effingham County, Illinois.
  2. A township in McDonough County, Illinois.
  3. A township in Warren County, Indiana.
  4. A township in McPherson County, Kansas.
  5. A village in Madison Parish, Louisiana.
  6. A city in Hennepin County, Minnesota. Tonka was created in 1946 by a gardening supply company in Mound, Minnesota called Mound Metalcraft, which later become Tonka Toys Incorporated.
  7. A township in Rock County, Minnesota.
  8. A township in Bates County, Missouri.
  9. A census-designated place in Coryell County, Texas.
  10. An unincorporated community in Kanawha County, West Virginia.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: hillock, knoll, hummock, hill, hammock, pile, heap, pitcher, barrow, tumulus, tomb, grave, playground, piles, tee, bunch

verb

Similar: pile

Translations

Every language

noun artificial elevation of earth

Españolmontículo
日本語塚 tsuka, マウンド maundo
中文土堆 tǔduī, 堆 duī
Portuguêspilha, monte, cômoro
Françaisbutte, monticule
DeutschErdhügel, Erdwall
Italianoterrapieno, tumulo, cumulo, monticello, motta, montarozzo
Русскийна́сыпь násypʹ, холм xolm

noun natural elevation

Españolmontículo
日本語丘 oka
中文丘 qiū
Portuguêsmonte
Françaistertre
DeutschHügel
Italianocollinetta, poggio, monticello, tumulo, motta
Românămovilă
Русскийкурга́н kurgán, холм xolm
Tiếng Việtgò, ụ, đụn

noun baseball term

Españolmontículo
日本語マウンド maundo
Portuguêsmontinho, montículo
Françaismonticule

noun part of regalia

Portuguêsorbe
Русскийдержава deržava

verb fortify with a mound

Françaisbutter

verb to pile into mounds

Españolapilar, amontonar
Portuguêsamontoar, empilhar
Italianoaccumulare, ammucchiare

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"mound." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/mound. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

mound. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/mound

Chicago

"mound." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/mound.

BibTeX
@misc{mound_2026,
  title = {mound},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/mound},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}