as in cave
a naturally formed underground chamber with an opening to the surface
at the heart of the shrine is a small rocky grotto into which pilgrims can descend
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Recent Examples of grotto
Or for a more tranquil setting, a grotto is tucked into the corner of the lagoon.
—
Mia Taylor, Boston Herald, 7 Sep. 2025
To keep things fresh, producers have ventured into hitherto uncharted baking grottoes.
—Ruby Tandoh, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
There’s a shallow wet deck with in-water daybeds and couches, and the main pool is located directly below the DJ booth, which sits atop the grotto.
—Emma Kershaw, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
Several Aruban grottoes and rock-shelters yielded inscriptions and pictographs to the explorer, who considers their style as related to the pictography of the Orinoco and Apure countries.
—The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 18 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for grotto
Mia Taylor, Boston Herald, 7 Sep. 2025
To keep things fresh, producers have ventured into hitherto uncharted baking grottoes.
—Ruby Tandoh, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
There’s a shallow wet deck with in-water daybeds and couches, and the main pool is located directly below the DJ booth, which sits atop the grotto.
—Emma Kershaw, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
Several Aruban grottoes and rock-shelters yielded inscriptions and pictographs to the explorer, who considers their style as related to the pictography of the Orinoco and Apure countries.
—The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 18 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for grotto
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grotto
Noun
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The mid-century offered more literal interpretations of cave living, from The Flintstones (1960) to the villainous Bond lair, often hidden within or carved into cliffs.—
Leonora Epstein,
Architectural Digest,
7 Nov. 2025
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However, the successful samples have largely been collected from dark caves or other cold and stable environments where DNA is preserved particularly well.—
Katie Hunt,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The sulfur-rich stream, fed by natural springs and winds through the cavern, releases hydrogen sulfide that sustains this unexpected chain of life.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
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This cavern, known as Sulfur Cave, houses a chemoautotrophic ecosystem sustained not by sunlight but chemosynthesis – or the process of converting chemical energy into organic matter.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
5 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Grotto.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grotto. Accessed 19 Nov. 2025.
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