Mounted

How to spell mounted

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce mounted

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does mounted mean?

1. verbClimbed up onto something, especially a horse, a bicycle, or a flight of stairs.
2. verbFastened or fixed something securely in a raised or display position.
3. verbRose or accumulated steadily, as of pressure, costs, or feelings.
4. adjectiveSeated on or serving on horseback.

Mounted in a sentence

• verb

  She mounted the horse and rode toward the gate.

• verb

  The technician mounted the television on the living room wall.

• verb

  Tension mounted in the office as the deadline drew closer.

• adjective

  The mounted police kept the festival crowd moving safely.

• verb

  He mounted the stairs two at a time to reach the office.

• verb

  They mounted the old photograph in a plain wooden frame.

Where does mounted come from?

Language of origin: French

This is the past tense and past participle of the verb 'mount', which English took from the Old French monter, meaning 'to go up' or 'to climb'. That French verb grew out of the Latin montare, itself built on mons (stem montem), the ordinary Latin word for a mountain or hill, so the earliest sense was literally 'to go uphill'. From the idea of climbing came the related senses of getting up onto a horse, of fixing something up in a raised position, and figuratively of figures or feelings rising higher. The very same Latin mons sits inside everyday words such as 'mountain', 'amount' and 'paramount', which is a useful clue to the spelling: it is 'moun-' as in mountain, never 'mown-'. The word has been in steady English use since the 1300s and the simple regular '-ed' ending has stayed unchanged.

How the word is built

• mount (from Latin mons, montem: mountain)
• -ed (past tense/participle suffix)