Molehill

For the hill in Virginia, see Mole Hill (Virginia).
Look up molehill in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Several lines of molehills in the pasture.
Trail of mole pass of molehills at Kasori Shell Mound, Chiba city

A molehill (or mole-hill, mole mound) is a conical mound of loose soil raised by small burrowing mammals, including moles, but also similar animals such as mole-rats, and voles. The word is first recorded in the first half of the 15th century.[1] Formerly the hill was known as a 'wantitump', a word still in dialect use for centuries afterwards.[2]

The phrase "making a mountain out of a molehill" is commonly used metaphorically to mean "to exaggerate a minor problem".

  1. ^ "the definition of molehill". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
  2. ^ Report and Transactions of the Devonshire Association (1875), Volume 7, p.564