variants
also grottos
as in caves
a naturally formed underground chamber with an opening to the surface
at the heart of the shrine is a small rocky grotto into which pilgrims can descend
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of grottoes
Boats depart from here for island tours, including to the famous Blue Grotto and other smaller grottoes and coves.
—
Elizabeth Heath,
Travel + Leisure,
2 June 2026
For Reykjavik native Gulla Jónsdóttir, the Aurora Borealis phenomena, molten-red erupting volcanoes, black sand shores and hot water grottoes were part of everyday life growing up.
—
Sofia Celeste,
Footwear News,
8 May 2026
Highlights include Xi’an’s Terracotta Warriors, the cliffside grottoes of Dunhuang, and a camel ride across the dunes of the Gobi Desert.
—
Everett Potter,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
Stay at the Four Seasons Resort Nevis, which partners with Islander Watersports to offer excursions to scuba dive reefs, coral grottoes and shipwrecks just minutes from Pinney’s Beach.
—
Adrienne Jordan,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
To keep things fresh, producers have ventured into hitherto uncharted baking grottoes.
—
Ruby Tandoh,
New Yorker,
25 Aug. 2025
Elizabeth Heath,
Travel + Leisure,
2 June 2026
For Reykjavik native Gulla Jónsdóttir, the Aurora Borealis phenomena, molten-red erupting volcanoes, black sand shores and hot water grottoes were part of everyday life growing up.
—
Sofia Celeste,
Footwear News,
8 May 2026
Highlights include Xi’an’s Terracotta Warriors, the cliffside grottoes of Dunhuang, and a camel ride across the dunes of the Gobi Desert.
—
Everett Potter,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
Stay at the Four Seasons Resort Nevis, which partners with Islander Watersports to offer excursions to scuba dive reefs, coral grottoes and shipwrecks just minutes from Pinney’s Beach.
—
Adrienne Jordan,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
To keep things fresh, producers have ventured into hitherto uncharted baking grottoes.
—
Ruby Tandoh,
New Yorker,
25 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grottoes
Noun
-
On the one hand, caves are humanity’s oldest architecture.
-
The lice live in dry caves and feed predominantly on bat guano.
Noun
-
Dragonstone is the windswept ancestral seat of House Targaryen, but the Black Queen did not grow up playing among its dusky caverns.
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While the lake is said to have been discovered in 1905 by a 13-year-old boy named Ben Sands, the surrounding caverns were used by the Cherokee long ago—20,000-year-old jaguar tracks have also been found there.
Cite this Entry
“Grottoes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grottoes. Accessed 3 Jul. 2026.
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