anthill

noun

ant·​hill ˈant-ˌhil How to pronounce anthill (audio)
: a mound of debris thrown up by ants or termites in digging their nest

Examples of anthill in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web For this latest experiment, Fredensborg chose to focus on four anthills in the Bidstrup Forests near Copenhagen, where both ants and lancet liver flukes are common. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 20 Sep. 2023 The position is so vast and covered in trenches, bunkers and tunnels that some parts have been compared to an anthill. Constant Méheut, New York Times, 22 Dec. 2023 In hindsight, his anthill vision shows anonymous people participating in their own destruction. Armond White, National Review, 13 Sep. 2023 The scene resembled a gigantic anthill. Bruce Jenkins, SFChronicle.com, 26 Dec. 2020 In one trippy scene, Scott gets trapped in a literal anthill of other Scotts. Devan Coggan, EW.com, 14 Feb. 2023 An anthill, which can contain hundreds of millions of workers with high genetic relatedness in compact, clustered living quarters, is the perfect place for disease outbreak. Troy Farah, Discover Magazine, 13 Apr. 2018 Upon hearing the shots, a third athlete from New Hampshire crashed his bike into an anthill and suffered multiple bites, according to Puerto Rican newspaper El Vocero. The Editors, Outside Online, 16 Mar. 2015 The Velvet Underground & Nico was ignored at the time, reaching an anthill peak of number 129 on the album chart. Kyle Smith, National Review, 6 Oct. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'anthill.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of anthill was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near anthill

Cite this Entry

“Anthill.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anthill. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

anthill

noun
ant·​hill ˈant-ˌhil How to pronounce anthill (audio)
: a mound made by ants in digging their nest

More from Merriam-Webster on anthill

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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