as in cliff
a steep wall of rock, earth, or ice
the castle sits atop an escarpment that for hundreds of years made it virtually invulnerable to attack
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of escarpment
Perched on the eastern escarpment of the Great Rift Valley with the Ewaso Narok River to the east and the slopes of Mount Kenya to the south, andBeyond Suyian Lodge offers endless panoramic views and access to a wide variety of landscapes, from savannas to rivers and Vechellia woodlands.
—
Rebekah Peppler, Travel + Leisure, 19 Sep. 2025
This park is all escarpments, rivers, and old forests.
—Daniel Scheffler, Forbes.com, 12 Sep. 2025
On the eastern side of the escarpment near Noto Canyon is a deposit of sediment reaching up to 800 meters thick.
—Elizabeth Fernandez, Big Think, 4 Sep. 2025
The main issue was accessibility, or lack thereof, thanks to the combination of rugged mountains and a massive escarpment that cut the place off from the world.
—Ned Zeman, Outside, 14 Nov. 2021
See All Example Sentences for escarpment
Rebekah Peppler, Travel + Leisure, 19 Sep. 2025
This park is all escarpments, rivers, and old forests.
—Daniel Scheffler, Forbes.com, 12 Sep. 2025
On the eastern side of the escarpment near Noto Canyon is a deposit of sediment reaching up to 800 meters thick.
—Elizabeth Fernandez, Big Think, 4 Sep. 2025
The main issue was accessibility, or lack thereof, thanks to the combination of rugged mountains and a massive escarpment that cut the place off from the world.
—Ned Zeman, Outside, 14 Nov. 2021
See All Example Sentences for escarpment
Recent Examples of Synonyms for escarpment
Noun
-
Water suddenly pours over the basalt cliffs, plunging into the glassy, almost perfectly circular pool below.—
Taryn Shorr-Mckee,
Travel + Leisure,
12 Jan. 2026
-
Time hits differently on the Aeolians, particularly on sleepy Salina, whose volcanic slopes are carpeted in wild capers and whose lava-houses and fishing villages appear cantilevered over the cliffs, with views of a smoking Stromboli.—
Rosalyn Wikeley,
Condé Nast Traveler,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Controlling passage through the palisade were twenty-one ornate gates, spaced approximately fifty kilometers apart, meant not only to curb immigration of Han Chinese and Koreans into Qing lands but also to limit movement of any natural resources out.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 Nov. 2025
-
The palisade walls and structural support beams that hold up the fort are made to look like wood but are constructed of concrete.—
Patrick Connolly,
The Orlando Sentinel,
1 June 2025
Noun
-
Even overconfidence is easily understandable at the crag or climbing wall.—
Outside Online,
Outside Online,
19 Nov. 2025
-
The climb is infamous for its heart-pumping switchbacks and vertiginous jaunt along a narrow sliver of crag.—
Stephanie Vermillion,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Carlsbad’s city manager declared a local emergency Wednesday to expedite repairs to a storm drain system on an ocean bluff eroded by recent rains.—
Phil Diehl,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Start this portion of the Florida National Scenic Trail—the Florida Trail, for short—from Southwest 79th Terrace in Jasper, then hike past cypress trees and limestone bluffs on the nearly eight-mile one-way trip to Holton Creek River Camp.—
Evie Carrick,
Travel + Leisure,
5 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Escarpment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/escarpment. Accessed 17 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
