make a mountain out of a molehill
"make-a-mountain-out-of-a-molehill" is a 27-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“make a mountain out of a molehill” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 33
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To treat a problem as greater than it is; to blow something out of proportion; to exaggerate the importance of something trivial.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | make a mountain out of a molehill |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| Letters | 33 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “make a mountain out of a molehill” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
make a mountain out of a molehill is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To treat a problem as greater than it is; to blow something out of proportion; to exaggerate the importance of something trivial.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for make a mountain out of a molehill, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is make a mountain out of a molehill, spelled M-A-K-E- -A- -M-O-U-N-T-A-I-N- -O-U-T- -O-F- -A- -M-O-L-E-H-I-L-L.
Definition
- 1To treat a problem as greater than it is; to blow something out of proportion; to exaggerate the importance of something trivial.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “make a mountain out of a molehill”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-A-K-E- -A- -M-O-U-N-T-A-I-N- -O-U-T- -O-F- -A- -M-O-L-E-H-I-L-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.