1
: the inner side of a ditch below the parapet of a fortification
2
a
: a line of cliffs produced by faulting or erosion see fault illustration
b
: a low steep slope along a beach caused by wave erosion
Synonyms
Examples of scarp in a Sentence
years of violent ocean storms had heavily eroded the beach, creating a scarp along one end of it
Recent Examples on the Web
After receiving Mastcam-Z images of the scarp and SuperCam RMI to provide a more detailed view of the scarp, SuperCam principal investigator Roger Wiens said the images showed there had been a large flash flooding event that occurred, washing boulders down into the delta formation.
—
Julia Musto, Fox News, 25 Sep. 2021
After 14 hours, the waves had carved a small cliff face called a scarp.
—Byerik Stokstad, science.org, 15 June 2023
Police found Thomas’ body with bullet holes six days after being left in a scarp of desert 20 minutes west of Buckeye.
—Miguel Torres, The Arizona Republic, 21 Mar. 2023
Deposits and scarp from the July 21, 2014 landslide in the Askja caldera, Iceland.
—Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 23 July 2014
Mayor Tom Butt said that a resident had warned him on Tuesday about some scarp and rocks falling from a hill, which was saturated and visibly cracked after days of rain.
—Jill Cowan, New York Times, 4 Jan. 2023
In one scarp, the team found that over the course of only three martian years, multiple meter-wide boulders dislodged themselves from the ice deposits, tumbling down into the valley below.
—Jake Parks, Discover Magazine, 12 Jan. 2018
Weber and others are gearing up to propose a mission that would place a new network of state-of-the-art seismometers on the moon, perhaps with one touching down on or near a scarp.
—Adam Mann, National Geographic, 13 May 2019
That entire scarp has been there from the time the fort was constructed.
—Jenny Staletovich, miamiherald, 15 Sep. 2017
See More
Julia Musto, Fox News, 25 Sep. 2021
After 14 hours, the waves had carved a small cliff face called a scarp.
—Byerik Stokstad, science.org, 15 June 2023
Police found Thomas’ body with bullet holes six days after being left in a scarp of desert 20 minutes west of Buckeye.
—Miguel Torres, The Arizona Republic, 21 Mar. 2023
Deposits and scarp from the July 21, 2014 landslide in the Askja caldera, Iceland.
—Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 23 July 2014
Mayor Tom Butt said that a resident had warned him on Tuesday about some scarp and rocks falling from a hill, which was saturated and visibly cracked after days of rain.
—Jill Cowan, New York Times, 4 Jan. 2023
In one scarp, the team found that over the course of only three martian years, multiple meter-wide boulders dislodged themselves from the ice deposits, tumbling down into the valley below.
—Jake Parks, Discover Magazine, 12 Jan. 2018
Weber and others are gearing up to propose a mission that would place a new network of state-of-the-art seismometers on the moon, perhaps with one touching down on or near a scarp.
—Adam Mann, National Geographic, 13 May 2019
That entire scarp has been there from the time the fort was constructed.
—Jenny Staletovich, miamiherald, 15 Sep. 2017
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'scarp.' 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
Italian scarpa
First Known Use
1589, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near scarp
Cite this Entry
“Scarp.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scarp. Accessed 1 Oct. 2023.
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Kids Definition
scarp
noun1
: a line of cliffs produced by faulting or erosion
2
: a low steep slope along a beach caused by wave erosion
scarped
adjective
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