1. (Abbr. Mt. or Mtn.) A natural elevation of the earth's surface having considerable mass, generally steep sides, and a height greater than that of a hill.
2. 1. A large heap: a mountain of laundry.
   2. A huge quantity: a mountain of trouble.

[Middle English mountaine, from Old French montaigne, muntaigne, from Vulgar Latin *montānea, from feminine of *montāneus, of a mountain, from Latin montānus, from mōns, mont-, mountain.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.