as in embankment
a raised bank or wall made of soil
—usually plural
prehistoric earthworks
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Recent Examples of earthwork
Residents allege that approving earthwork without a site plan prevents meaningful public review and undermines environmental and infrastructure protections, court documents state.
—
Deborah Laverty, Chicago Tribune, 9 Feb. 2026
According to those standards and Google Earth elevation data, that could require earthwork to raise the ground of the Unicoi site by at least 8 feet and as much as 18 feet before construction.
—Brett Kelman, CBS News, 9 Feb. 2026
The backstory People have been drawn to these magical 40 acres for centuries– the name comes from a Narragansett earthwork that once stood here, which to European settlers resembled a castle.
—Todd Plummer, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Feb. 2026
As the seat of the Kingdom of Benin, the city was renowned for monumental earthworks and extraordinary bronze artistry.
—Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for earthwork
Deborah Laverty, Chicago Tribune, 9 Feb. 2026
According to those standards and Google Earth elevation data, that could require earthwork to raise the ground of the Unicoi site by at least 8 feet and as much as 18 feet before construction.
—Brett Kelman, CBS News, 9 Feb. 2026
The backstory People have been drawn to these magical 40 acres for centuries– the name comes from a Narragansett earthwork that once stood here, which to European settlers resembled a castle.
—Todd Plummer, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Feb. 2026
As the seat of the Kingdom of Benin, the city was renowned for monumental earthworks and extraordinary bronze artistry.
—Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for earthwork
Recent Examples of Synonyms for earthwork
Noun
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Kayakers contacted law enforcement after spotting a vehicle stranded on a steep embankment near milepost 4 on South Fork Road, close to the South Fork of the Payette River, that same day.—
Shannon Tyler,
Idaho Statesman,
18 June 2026
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Delaware Task Force One, multiple fire departments, and tow companies worked for hours to strategically pull the truck up from an embankment.—
Joe Brandt,
CBS News,
12 June 2026
Noun
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In 1946, Picasso set up his studio in Château Grimaldi, a former medieval castle perched above the ramparts.—
Lane Nieset,
Travel + Leisure,
13 June 2026
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The best are those on top floors with views of the pool or Caribbean Sea beyond city ramparts—uninterrupted for over 500 miles north to Jamaica.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
25 May 2026
Noun
-
The infantrymen around him peeped painfully over the heap of dirt that substituted for a breastwork.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Many residents who live near the project are concerned over a big increase in traffic, especially along the Garden Highway, which is a narrow, two-lane levee road.—
James Taylor,
CBS News,
17 June 2026
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The first step was to discover what could be built in the area because a portion of the land is part of the city’s levee system used to prevent flooding.—
Jenna Ebbers,
Kansas City Star,
16 June 2026
Noun
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Thirty homes below the Anchor Lake dam in southern Mississippi were being evacuated as a precaution due to concerns that rising waters could overwhelm the spillways and compromise the structure, Reeves said.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
19 June 2026
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Why is Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins dead set on saving a failing Northern California dam?—
Alex Wigglesworth,
Los Angeles Times,
18 June 2026
Noun
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More than 1 billion gallons of ash spilled into waterways and neighboring properties after a dike ruptured.—
Christiana Freitag,
Chicago Tribune,
13 June 2026
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The ditch by the plant is connected to a dike system that runs through the city of Longview, which has a population of around 37,000, Stanfield said.—
Phil Helsel,
NBC news,
29 May 2026
Noun
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The city is also looking at water circulation around the pier, specifically how the breakwater changes the environment, Parry said.—
Karen Garcia,
Los Angeles Times,
20 May 2026
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The shark was apparently first found wedged in rocks by the breakwater at Salty Brine State Beach in Galilee, but then the shark freed itself and started swimming in circles.—
Rick Sobey,
Boston Herald,
18 May 2026
Noun
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In casting a figure who could embody an industry, a medium, a bulwark against unworthy encroachers and invaders, Michael Patrick King and Lisa Kudrow brought in Burrows as the most believable person possible.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
19 June 2026
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Chip smuggling or diversion could eliminate the bottleneck, which many experts say is a critical national security bulwark.—
Jared Perlo,
NBC news,
18 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Earthwork.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/earthwork. Accessed 22 Jun. 2026.
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