escarpment

noun

es·​carp·​ment i-ˈskärp-mənt How to pronounce escarpment (audio)
1
: a steep slope in front of a fortification
2
: a long cliff or steep slope separating two comparatively level or more gently sloping surfaces and resulting from erosion or faulting

Examples of escarpment in a Sentence

the castle sits atop an escarpment that for hundreds of years made it virtually invulnerable to attack
Recent Examples on the Web Once inside, the route ducks among vertical escarpments, oddly balanced rocks and contorted pillars. Mare Czinar, The Arizona Republic, 7 Mar. 2024 In the Hottentots Holland mountain range this month, the revs of their chain saws echoed down the escarpment. Katharine Houreld, Washington Post, 28 Feb. 2024 The priest looked across the waters and saw São Miguel up ahead, a line of shacks rising upon an escarpment. Bishop Sand, Washington Post, 17 Feb. 2024 The contrasting landscapes here, including coral coastlines, vast floodplains, rocky escarpments, and the ochre sands of the outback, are astounding. Drew Kluska, Travel + Leisure, 25 Nov. 2023 It had been carved through an escarpment, forming a deep chasm with tall rocky cliffs on both sides. Nathan Thrall, Curbed, 25 Oct. 2023 Ethiopia’s Rift Valley became a very complex environment, with woods and highlands, ridges, steep escarpments, hills, plateaus and plains, valleys, and deep freshwater lakes on the floor of the rift, which was gradually widening. Jeff Goodell, Time, 6 July 2023 Federal troops have taken control over lowlands to the west, south and east of a highland escarpment in Tigray, according to Kjetil Tronvoll, an Ethiopian politics scholar at Bjorknes University College in Norway, who maintains contact with several top Tigrayan leaders. Bloomberg.com, 20 Nov. 2020 Beyond that, more lifts and descents took me past the wooden chalets and pretty, mellow slopes of Milez, through the hamlet of Dieni, around the farms of Sedrun and then, finally, up over a forest and around a rocky escarpment into the Disentis ski area. Tom Robbins, Travel + Leisure, 13 Dec. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'escarpment.' 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

French escarpement, from escarper to scarp, from Middle French, from escarpe scarp, from Old Italian scarpa — more at scarp

First Known Use

circa 1802, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of escarpment was circa 1802

Dictionary Entries Near escarpment

Cite this Entry

“Escarpment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/escarpment. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

escarpment

noun
es·​carp·​ment is-ˈkärp-mənt How to pronounce escarpment (audio)
1
: a steep slope in front of a fort or defensive area
2
: a long cliff

More from Merriam-Webster on escarpment

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