as in breastworks
a raised bank or wall made of soil
prehistoric earthworks
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Recent Examples of earthworks
His portfolio of commercial and philanthropic projects include earthworks across the country and around the world in Brazil, Australia, China and Cuba.
—
Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 23 Apr. 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
Andrew Scherer, a professor of archaeology and the ancient world, also at Brown, said the sheer size of the earthworks, their early age and the lack of a significant social hierarchy made the site particularly interesting.
—Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 5 Nov. 2025
Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 23 Apr. 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
Andrew Scherer, a professor of archaeology and the ancient world, also at Brown, said the sheer size of the earthworks, their early age and the lack of a significant social hierarchy made the site particularly interesting.
—Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 5 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for earthworks
Noun
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In the wake of the 2007 settlement, tents began to appear on the sidewalks, freeway embankments, overpasses, underpasses, civic plazas and public spaces everywhere in Los Angeles.—
Susan Shelley,
Oc Register,
25 Apr. 2026
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The East River Residence, which is suspended on thin columns, stretches across the valley like a bridge between two embankments, letting the terrain flow underneath it like water.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Located in the idyllic region of Ripollès, the ramparts of castle Llaés look out upon both the Pyrenees and bucolic hillsides where goats graze.—
Erika Owen,
Architectural Digest,
29 Apr. 2026
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Military engineers resorted to building lower, thicker ramparts, backed by earth, and sought to eliminate blind spots by building angular bastions — the aforementioned extrusions.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Watch all of the day’s events here, including Abel’s first question-and-answer session with insurance chief Ajit Jain, and a panel with the heads of Berkshire’s other businesses.—
Yun Li,Alex Harring,Sarah Min,
CNBC,
2 May 2026
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Still, Fudd was able to adjust and didn’t pick up a single foul after halftime, and Wings coach Jose Fernandez isn’t concerned about the star guard as Dallas heads into its second preseason game Sunday against the Las Vegas Aces at home.—
Emily Adams,
Hartford Courant,
1 May 2026
Noun
-
Twelve blocks to the west, the Pacific Ocean glitters and threatens, waves dragging out in the wind.—
Anna Wiener,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
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However, once a nutrient broth at 122 degrees Fahrenheit (50 degrees Celsius) was added, the spores activated, breaking the plastic all the way down to its base building blocks after just six days.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
3 May 2026
Noun
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Mudslides have also forced thousands to move from the western Rift Valley area, while people living downstream of the Tana and Athi rivers have been urged to move to higher ground as water levels in the country’s hydroelectric dams rise.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 May 2026
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The original northern site would have required three dams.—
Spencer Wilson,
CBS News,
2 May 2026
Noun
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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.—
Adam Kovac,
Scientific American,
22 Apr. 2026
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The dikes would consist of walls surrounding the city, separating it from the lagoon, Lionello said.—
Julia Jacobo,
ABC News,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The Stillaguamish Tribe has been buying riverfront land in its traditional territory and removing levees to turn farmland into wetland with the hope of restoring Chinook.—
John Ryan,
NPR,
3 May 2026
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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.—
Adam Kovac,
Scientific American,
22 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The last strikes in Beirut were on April 8, when a series of massive Israeli barrages, including in central Beirut, killed more than 350 people.—
Joshua Boak,
Los Angeles Times,
6 May 2026
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On Saturday, Moscow pummeled the central city of Dnipro and other areas for more than twenty hours with barrages of missiles and drones, killing at least seven people.—
Sudarsan Raghavan,
New Yorker,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Earthworks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/earthworks. Accessed 8 May. 2026.
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