earthwork

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noun earth·work \ˈərth-ˌwərk\

Definition of earthwork

1 : an embankment or other construction made of earth; especially : one used as a field fortification
2 : the operations connected with excavations and embankments of earth
3 : a work of art consisting of a portion of land modified by an artist

See earthwork defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of earthwork from the Web

Civil War-era rifle bullets—out of the crumbling remains of Confederate earthworks.

— garrett epps, The Atlantic, "The True History of the South Is Not Being Erased", 11 June 2017
Those earthworks remain, mostly under federal management now—scars in the earth left by a cataclysmic struggle within the American family a century and a half ago.

— garrett epps, The Atlantic, "The True History of the South Is Not Being Erased", 11 June 2017
The biggest work in the Hirshhorn show, the 1968 Westwall (Siegfried Line), takes on the supposedly impenetrable series of bunkers along Germany’s western border, and considers it more like an earthwork than a wartime embankment.

— roger catlin, Smithsonian, "It Takes Two Museums to Cover the Work of this Prolific German Neo-Expressionist", 6 June 2017
Named for a sci-fi novel that Smithson read in 1967, earthworks represented a new genre of landscape art.

— phyllis tuchman, New York Times, "How Do You Sell a Work of Art Built Into the Earth?", 27 Jan. 2017
Almost 50 years ago, Robert Smithson, along with his fellow artists Michael Heizer, Walter De Maria and other adventurous colleagues, pioneered earthworks, an audacious — and short-lived — movement of the 20th century.

— phyllis tuchman, New York Times, "How Do You Sell a Work of Art Built Into the Earth?", 27 Jan. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'earthwork'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.