escarpment

noun

i-ˈskärp-mənt How to pronounce escarpment (audio)
Definition of escarpmentnext
as in cliff
a steep wall of rock, earth, or ice the castle sits atop an escarpment that for hundreds of years made it virtually invulnerable to attack

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of escarpment Just as the sun prepared to sink beyond the escarpments, its rays struck every piece of the fractured glass resting on top of the window frames, alighting all of them at once, as if they were shot with electricity. — New York Times, 16 Mar. 2026 At 5 o’clock the sun dropped behind Steamboat Mountain, a towering escarpment that overshadows the entire area. — William J. McRae, Outdoor Life, 26 Nov. 2025 Which means the 4,092-square-kilometer area between the high, forested escarpment and the wide stretches of the Zambezi River is still pretty untouched. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026 Built around a towering sandstone escarpment that rises through the centre of the property, surrounded by a deliciously cold pool, the architecture was conceived in careful negotiation with the landscape. — Lara Johnson-Wheeler, Vogue, 3 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for escarpment
Recent Examples of Synonyms for escarpment
  1. cliff
  2. palisade
  3. crag
  4. bluff
Noun
  • Whenever someone reaches the top of the 25-meter (82-feet) cliff — often for the first time — spectators, instructors and climbers break into applause.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 5 July 2026
  • Every twenty minutes cliff divers, costumed characters, and magicians put on performances and interact with diners.
    — Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN Money, 5 July 2026
Definition of cliff
Noun
  • The optical illusion reminded early settlers of the blockades of wooden stakes, or palisades, built around forts to ward off threats.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 May 2026
  • In 2014, the regional nonprofit group SOS Sahel came to Barkadroussou and taught villagers to stabilize the dunes by building palisades of palm fronds.
    — Julie Bourdin, NPR, 11 Apr. 2026
Definition of palisade
Noun
  • But, typical of Hockney portraiture, the resulting drawings magnificently captured every crag in Auden’s impossibly craggy face.
    — Mark Rozzo, Vanity Fair, 12 June 2026
  • Recommendations The Storr, a hill known for its peculiar crags, is one of Scotland’s most popular destinations.
    — New York Times, New York Times, 4 June 2026
Definition of crag
Noun
  • Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky immediately called Putin’s bluff and offered to meet him there to talk peace.
    — Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 6 July 2026
  • More directly across the river is the Menard Correctional Center, the oldest and largest prison in Illinois, and just up the bluff from there is Fort Kaskaskia, high above the Mississippi.
    — Andrew Carter, Chicago Tribune, 5 July 2026
Definition of bluff

Browse Nearby Words

escapisms
escarpment
escarpments
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Cite this Entry

“Escarpment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/escarpment. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on escarpment

Nglish: Translation of escarpment for Spanish Speakers

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