hilling

verb

present participle of hill
as in piling
to form into a pile or ridge of earth hilled peat moss around the rosebushes to protect them from the freeze

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hilling When the stems reach about 6 to 8 inches tall, start hilling by placing new soil around the stems. — Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 13 Apr. 2026 This process is called hilling and creates an area of loose soil where tubers easily form while being shaded from the sun. — Sheryl Geerts, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hilling
  1. piling
  2. stacking
  3. mounding
  4. clumping
Verb
  • The excuses that keep piling up The backyard isn’t my first condition.
    — Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 July 2026
  • Big Tech’s historic AI outlays, set ‌to top $700 billion this year, are piling pressure on companies to show returns from the technology and offset the rising cost of rolling it out across their businesses.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 6 July 2026
Definition of piling
Verb
  • The complex crumbled during the quakes, with the floors stacking on top of the other.
    — Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald, 30 June 2026
  • AmbiStack takes over downstream by scanning and stacking cases for receiving.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 30 June 2026
Definition of stacking
Verb
  • These low-growing, mounding plants work well as ground covers, edging plants, or in containers.
    — Lauren David, Southern Living, 4 June 2026
  • Selections may be mounding or trailing.
    — Rita Pelczar, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 May 2026
Definition of mounding
Verb
  • This also removes excess starch, keeping the pasta from clumping together.
    — Martha Stewart, Martha Stewart, 26 June 2026
  • The drug is designed to rapidly block platelets from clumping and restricting blood flow, lessening the adverse outcomes of a heart attack.
    — Justin Zacks, CNBC, 4 June 2026
Definition of clumping

Browse Nearby Words

hilled
hilling
hillock
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hilling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hilling. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All