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

In response, the town shifted its marketing to late-night booze-ups and wedding parties (known, in British parlance, as stag dos and hen dos), and subsequently grew a reputation as a sandcastle Sodom. — George Francis Lee, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2026

The wide swath of powdery white sand on Sarasota's Siesta Key barrier island is great for sandcastle building and Frisbee tossing—and the sand doesn’t get hot even when the temperature does. — Beth Luberecki, USA Today, 30 June 2026

New Jersey’s exhibit was filled with a 7,000-pound sandcastle constructed from Jersey Shore sand. — Rob Crilly, The Washington Examiner, 30 June 2026

Visitors to New Jersey’s booth saw an ornate sandcastle made from 7,000 pounds of sand brought from the Jersey Shore and built over the course of four days by an artist. — Gary Fields, Chicago Tribune, 27 June 2026

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