1
: the inner side of a ditch below the parapet of a fortification
2
a
: a line of cliffs produced by faulting or erosion see fault illustration
b
: a low steep slope along a beach caused by wave erosion
scarped adjective

Examples of scarp in a Sentence

years of violent ocean storms had heavily eroded the beach, creating a scarp along one end of it
Recent Examples on the Web Fault scarps are essentially breaks in the ground that are evidence of past earthquakes. Denise Chow, NBC News, 29 Nov. 2023 Shaded relief maps based on lidar data and showing fault scarps in Paradise Valley, Montana. Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 28 Nov. 2023 After receiving Mastcam-Z images of the scarp and SuperCam RMI to provide a more detailed view of the scarp, SuperCam principal investigator Roger Wiens said the images showed there had been a large flash flooding event that occurred, washing boulders down into the delta formation. Julia Musto, Fox News, 25 Sep. 2021 After 14 hours, the waves had carved a small cliff face called a scarp. Byerik Stokstad, science.org, 15 June 2023 Police found Thomas’ body with bullet holes six days after being left in a scarp of desert 20 minutes west of Buckeye. Miguel Torres, The Arizona Republic, 21 Mar. 2023 Deposits and scarp from the July 21, 2014 landslide in the Askja caldera, Iceland. Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 23 July 2014 Mayor Tom Butt said that a resident had warned him on Tuesday about some scarp and rocks falling from a hill, which was saturated and visibly cracked after days of rain. Jill Cowan, New York Times, 4 Jan. 2023 In one scarp, the team found that over the course of only three martian years, multiple meter-wide boulders dislodged themselves from the ice deposits, tumbling down into the valley below. Jake Parks, Discover Magazine, 12 Jan. 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'scarp.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Italian scarpa

First Known Use

1589, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of scarp was in 1589

Dictionary Entries Near scarp

Cite this Entry

“Scarp.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scarp. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

scarp

noun
1
: a line of cliffs produced by faulting or erosion
2
: a low steep slope along a beach caused by wave erosion
scarped adjective
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