molehill

[mohl-hil] /ˈmoʊlˌhɪl/
noun
1.
a small mound or ridge of earth raised up by a mole or moles burrowing under the ground.
Idioms
2.
make a mountain out of a molehill, to exaggerate a minor difficulty.
Origin
1400-50; late Middle English; see mole1, hill
Examples from the web for molehill
  • Conscience often stops at a molehill and leaps over a mountain.
  • If you've ever driven a remote-controlled car into a molehill, you can understand the rover's predicament.
  • Making a mountain out of a molehill does exactly the opposite of its intent.
  • Cosmology, in other words, is a mountain of theory built on a molehill of evidence.
  • But the capital taken out of the industry through cash takeovers is a molehill compared with the mountain needing to be eroded.
  • At its center is a four-inch rise, a veritable molehill compared with the nearby mountains.
  • Have you ever heard of the saying turning a molehill into a mountain.
  • The way to make a mountain out of a molehill is to keep adding dirt.
  • The current crisis will subside soon, so don't turn a molehill into a mountain.
  • Put your ear on a molehill, and you might hear the little tunneler's tummy growl.
British Dictionary definitions for molehill

molehill

/ˈməʊlˌhɪl/
noun
1.
the small mound of earth thrown up by a burrowing mole
2.
make a mountain out of a molehill, to exaggerate an unimportant matter out of all proportion
Word Origin and History for molehill
n.

also mole-hill, mid-15c., from mole (2) + hill (n.).

To much amplifying thinges yt. be but small, makyng mountaines of Molehils. [John Foxe, "Acts and Monuments," 1570]

Idioms and Phrases with molehill

molehill

see: make a mountain out of a molehill