noun / verb

mound

MOUND/maʊnd/

A raised heap of earth or other material, or to form one.

A small mound of soil sits beside the freshly dug hole.

A single rounded mound of loose brown earth rises clearly above a small patch of otherwise level ground, with a few soil clods at its base.

Etymology

Mound has an obscure origin, but its earlier meanings included a fence, embankment, or dam. The embankment sense connects naturally with its later use for an artificial heap or a low hill.

In context

Secret Origins13:37

It is precisely in Ohio that the Great Serpent Mound, a three-feet-high and 1,348-feet-long ancient earth mound, is located.

Lost Giants of America: The Biggest Cover-Up in Human History

More examples

She mounds mashed potatoes onto each plate.
Mounds of snow line the driveway.
We mounded soil around the young plants.

Forms

mound · mounds · mounded · mounding

Similar words

heap: Often suggests a loose, untidy pile rather than a rounded rise.
pile: Can describe stacked objects without suggesting a rounded shape.
hill: Usually describes a larger natural rise in the land.