as in breastworks
a raised bank or wall made of soil
prehistoric earthworks
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Recent Examples of earthworks
From 2016, project teams were flying weekly missions and creating a Google Earth-consistent aerial record of earthworks at centimeter resolution and accuracy.
—
Mike Winn,
Forbes.com,
29 June 2026
This is around the same time that the first earthworks at Stonehenge were built, while the famous stones weren’t put in place until 500 years later.
—
Jack Guy,
CNN Money,
18 June 2026
It's thought that people would have celebrated the solstice at the site around the same time as the very first earthworks were built at Stonehenge.
—
Adam England,
PEOPLE,
18 June 2026
The famous earthworks artist, with help from his team and volunteers, unveiled the piece to Lawrence and the Algerian community on Saturday to a crowd of over 800.
—
Sophie Lindberg,
Kansas City Star,
17 June 2026
Lantern Light Magic End the day with the Lantern Light Tour at Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park, where the night sky transforms the ancient earthworks into an unforgettable experience.
—
Rafael Peña,
Miami Herald,
20 Mar. 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
Mike Winn,
Forbes.com,
29 June 2026
This is around the same time that the first earthworks at Stonehenge were built, while the famous stones weren’t put in place until 500 years later.
—
Jack Guy,
CNN Money,
18 June 2026
It's thought that people would have celebrated the solstice at the site around the same time as the very first earthworks were built at Stonehenge.
—
Adam England,
PEOPLE,
18 June 2026
The famous earthworks artist, with help from his team and volunteers, unveiled the piece to Lawrence and the Algerian community on Saturday to a crowd of over 800.
—
Sophie Lindberg,
Kansas City Star,
17 June 2026
Lantern Light Magic End the day with the Lantern Light Tour at Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park, where the night sky transforms the ancient earthworks into an unforgettable experience.
—
Rafael Peña,
Miami Herald,
20 Mar. 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for earthworks
Noun
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Riding mowers are not designed for wet conditions and are more likely to roll on embankments.
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Been there as communities have tried to tame the mighty waters with levees and embankments, and battled 100-pound invasive fish.
Noun
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Gaspare Fossati, the architect best known for restoring Hagia Sophia, renovated the building in the 1840s, while the remains of 13th-century Genoese ramparts still form part of the restaurant walls downstairs.
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Finally, unable to stand down the household guard on her own, Alicent confesses her scheme to Helaena, who orders the sentries on the ramparts to hold fire when Rhaenyra flies in on Syrax.
Noun
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One couple slept on the grass with umbrellas over their heads and just two thin blankets for cover on what turned out to be a cooler night than expected following a London heatwave where temperatures soared to 95 degrees.
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Despite the lack of goals, the game was exciting with end-to-end runs and missed chances that left fans of both teams groaning and burying their heads in their hands.
Noun
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The building is three blocks south of the Fort Worth Stockyards national historic district.
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Crews closed Queens Road between the 1000 and 1100 blocks to repair the main.
Noun
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But that friendship was betrayed as settlers dried up the Gila with upstream dams and diversions.
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Other risks to metal production from El Nino include the potential for aluminum and zinc shortages caused by low water levels in hydroelectric dams in China’s southern Yunnan province.
Noun
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City officials warned residents in the vicinity of the dikes to prepare to evacuate.
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Constructing protective structures such as levees and dikes can help, as can preserving natural landscapes, such as wetlands and estuaries that can act as a natural sponge to absorb floodwaters, in and near the cities, Shao and her colleagues wrote.
Noun
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In his view, its role is merely to maintain the levees for flood protection.
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Maintaining urban wetlands can help reduce flooding, protect property and recharge groundwater more effectively and for less money than building and maintaining levees.
Noun
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These strategic American missile defenses, in Israel and elsewhere in the region, significantly boosted Israeli defenses against Iranian barrages during that war.
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Once relying on its massive missile arsenal, advances in Israeli intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance have neutered its previous strategy of relying on simultaneous barrages of missiles to overwhelm Israeli missile defenses.
Cite this Entry
“Earthworks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/earthworks. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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