as in embankment
a raised bank or wall made of soil
—usually plural
prehistoric earthworks
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Recent Examples of earthwork
In the 1970s, Smithson began making earthworks, the art pieces that would define his career.
—
Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 19 Dec. 2024
Kyiv has been struggling to boost military recruitment, stiffen its forces’ defensive earthworks, reform archaic command staffs and boost the output of Ukrainian arms factories.
—David Axe, Forbes, 7 Dec. 2024
The county's history dates back even further, though. Pre-colonization, Fort Ancient, a 2,000-year-old earthworks site and nature preserve, was built by Indigenous people for ceremonial purposes.
—Erin Couch, The Enquirer, 27 Oct. 2024
This is a type of explosive which produces little shrapnel but a powerful which ‘flows’ around corners in defensive earthworks; the U.S. developed a special AGM-114 Cave buster variant of the Hellfire for attacking Taliban tunnel complexes in Afghanistan.
—David Hambling, Forbes, 11 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for earthwork
Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 19 Dec. 2024
Kyiv has been struggling to boost military recruitment, stiffen its forces’ defensive earthworks, reform archaic command staffs and boost the output of Ukrainian arms factories.
—David Axe, Forbes, 7 Dec. 2024
The county's history dates back even further, though. Pre-colonization, Fort Ancient, a 2,000-year-old earthworks site and nature preserve, was built by Indigenous people for ceremonial purposes.
—Erin Couch, The Enquirer, 27 Oct. 2024
This is a type of explosive which produces little shrapnel but a powerful which ‘flows’ around corners in defensive earthworks; the U.S. developed a special AGM-114 Cave buster variant of the Hellfire for attacking Taliban tunnel complexes in Afghanistan.
—David Hambling, Forbes, 11 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for earthwork
Recent Examples of Synonyms for earthwork
Noun
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Investigators said the bus then went partially up the embankment off the highway near milepost 2 and rolled onto its left side.—
Lauren Penington,
The Denver Post,
13 Mar. 2025
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The airplane hit the embankment at 09:02:57, the report says.—
Hakyung Kate Lee,
ABC News,
26 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Perhaps halfway up to the crest which forms the ramparts of the Mule Shoe was a jutting bastion of orange-colored rock.—
Frank C. Hibben,
Outdoor Life,
27 Feb. 2025
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The 18th-century ramparts encircling the city are free to climb and boast dramatic ocean views.—
Livia Hengel,
Forbes,
26 Nov. 2024
Noun
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As the final minutes began to bleed off the clock, the levee finally collapsed for Shrewsbury, as Richardson fired home a rocket through traffic to put Hingham ahead for good at 3-2.—
Brendan Connelly,
Boston Herald,
2 Mar. 2025
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In Tennessee, a state of emergency was declared by the local authorities after a levee broke near the small town of Rives, which has a population roughly 250, along the Obion river.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
19 Feb. 2025
Noun
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In a chilling twist of fate, in the film’s first location — a zigzagging, vertical staircase aside a dam in Portugal — a close friend of the group experiences a horrifying accident, captured on camera, that underscores just how perilous Storror’s stunts really are.—
Adam B. Vary,
Variety,
8 Mar. 2025
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The order was met with shock inside the US Army Corps branch that operates dams in California’s San Joaquin Valley, two people with knowledge of the matter said.—
Ella Nilsen,
CNN,
7 Mar. 2025
Noun
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His brave stand, like the legendary Dutch hero whose finger in the dike blocked a flood, still holds back the efforts of Putin, Xi Jinping, and their allies to undermine democracy — in the Baltics, Poland, Western Europe, and Taiwan, and in Trump’s United States.—
Trudy Rubin,
The Mercury News,
28 Feb. 2025
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This lack of collaboration is untenable in the current reality where the sea of fast-moving, stealth attackers threatens to overwhelm the dike entirely.—
Jonathan Fischbein,
Forbes,
14 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The federal government's lawsuit hinges on a section in the U.S. Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 that says the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must sign off on any plans to place a wharf, pier, boom breakwater, bulkhead, jetty or other structures in navigable waters.—
John C. Moritz,
Austin American-Statesman,
15 May 2024
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Fishing and sailing boats are sheltered in a marina fronted by restaurants, while the ruins of a nearby ancient breakwater are still visible underwater.—
John Oseid,
Forbes,
27 Nov. 2024
Noun
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And then there's Musk's increasingly antagonistic attitude toward Ukraine, a country viewed by many Europeans as a bulwark against further Russian aggression.—
Ars Technica,
Ars Technica,
12 Mar. 2025
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With the Trump administration taking control of the CDC and other posts on the nation’s science bulwark, the consequences are getting worse.—
Adam Marcus,
The Atlantic,
13 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Here are five things to see and do — beyond the canal — to enhance your urban Panamanian itinerary.—
Carolyn Heller,
Forbes,
18 Mar. 2025
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There is shade along the path; iguanas scurry into the canal as riders pass.—
Lois K. Solomon,
Sun Sentinel,
18 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Earthwork.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/earthwork. Accessed 22 Mar. 2025.
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