sandcastle

noun

sand·​cas·​tle ˈsan(d)-ˌka-səl 

variants or sand castle

: a small model of a castle or other structure that is made with sand on a beach

Ruth lay beside Piet unhappily, not quite ready to bask and beautify herself like a teenager, yet too old for sandcastles.

—John Updike

"What you want is a change of air. We will pop down together hand in hand this week-end to some seaside resort. You shall build sand castles, while I lie on the beach and read the paper."

—P. G. Wodehouse

Examples of sandcastle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Set on pristine white sand, the resort is an angular sandcastle of clean lines, coral surfaces, and glittering private pools that mirror the island’s milky blue surrounds. —Elspeth Velten, Travel + Leisure, 10 Apr. 2025

Mathematicians want to understand this process in greater detail, to be able to say exactly how the surface of the ice — or, say, the shape of a gradually eroding sandcastle — changes over time. —Quanta Magazine, 31 Mar. 2025

There’s also a sandcastle water play structure for little ones and an outdoor splash pad for when the weather’s warm. —Beth Luberecki, USA TODAY, 4 Jan. 2025

Pascal Siakam might do an admirable job defending him in the halfcourt, but picking him up full-court is like trying to trying to stop a tidal wave with a sandcastle. —Brian Sampson, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1854, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for sandcastle

• castle
• facile
• gracile
• hassall
• hassle
• passel
• tassel
• vassal
• fluorouracil
• thiouracil
• forecastle
• uracil