hummock

[huhm-uhk]

noun

1. Also an elevated tract of land rising above the general level of a marshy region.

2. a knoll or hillock.

3. Also a ridge in an ice field.

hummock

/ ˈhʌmək /

noun

1. a hillock; knoll

2. a ridge or mound of ice in an ice field

3. Also called: hammock. a wooded area lying above the level of an adjacent marsh

Other Word Forms

• hummocky adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of hummock¹

1545–55; humm- (akin to hump ) + -ock

Word History and Origins

Origin of hummock¹

C16: of uncertain origin; compare _{hump, hammock}

Example Sentences

As the ranks drew near to the German lines...rifles and machine guns pounded forth a rapid-fire of death from behind walls and hummocks and the windows of houses.

From Literature

The tiny footsteps glowed under her flashlight, leading around mossy hummocks and beneath fallen branches and up tree trunks and then back down again.

From New York Times

Frequently, one of the dog teams had to be unharnessed from its sled and then hitched to a lifeboat to help the men drag it up and over a hummock or ridge.

From Literature

Spinifex grasses start out as small round hummocks, said Angela Moles, an ecologist at the University of New South Wales and an author of the new paper.

From New York Times

Swales and hummocks created through excavation connect the wetland cells and diversify the habitat and landscape features.

From Washington Times

Related Words

• bluff 
• cliff 
• dune 
• highland 
• hillside 
• hilltop 
• ridge 
• slope