Definition

Noun: A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. It is a natural, low point or gap between mountains that allows for easier travel or crossing compared to the higher, more difficult terrain around it.

Examples

• The explorers used the ancient mountain pass to cross the formidable range.
• The road through the mountain pass is often closed in winter due to heavy snow.
• Controlling the strategic mountain pass was key to the army's defense.

Advanced Usage

• "to hold the pass": To control or defend a mountain pass, often used in a military or strategic context.
  • A small force was able to hold the pass against a much larger army.
• "a high pass": A pass located at a very high altitude.
  • The trek to the base camp involves crossing a high pass over 5,000 meters.

Variants and Related Words

• Pass (noun): A common shorter form for "mountain pass."
  • They journeyed through the Brenner Pass into Italy.
• Col (noun): A specific term for a pass, especially a narrow, saddle-shaped gap between two peaks.
• Defile (noun): A narrow pass or gorge between mountains, often with steep sides.
• Saddle (noun): A broad, shallow pass between two peaks, resembling the shape of a saddle.

Synonyms

• Gap: An opening or break in a mountain barrier.
• Notch: A V-shaped pass or indentation in a mountain ridge.
• Cut: (Especially in North America) A passage or channel cut through a hill or mountain for a road or railway.

Related Phrases

• Pass road: A road built through a mountain pass.
  • The pass road winds dramatically through the cliffs.
• Pass summit: The highest point of a mountain pass.
  • There's a marker at the pass summit indicating the elevation.

Idioms

• "A pass in the mountains": This phrase is used literally to refer to a mountain pass and is not commonly an idiom itself. However, the concept is central to idioms about overcoming obstacles, such as finding "a way through" a difficult situation.

Noun

1. the location in a range of mountains of a geological formation that is lower than the surrounding peaks
   • we got through the pass before it started to snow