berm

[burm]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR berm ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Also berme. Fortification. a horizontal surface between the exterior slope of a rampart and the moat.

Also called bench. any level strip of ground at the summit or sides, or along the base, of a slope.

Also called backshore, beach berm. a nearly flat back portion of a beach, formed of material deposited by the action of the waves.

Chiefly Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. the bank of a canal or the shoulder of a road.

Chiefly Alaska. a mound of snow or dirt, as formed when clearing land.

a bank of earth placed against an exterior wall or walls of a house or other building as protection against extremes of temperature.

verb (used with object)

to cover or protect with a berm: The side walls were bermed to a height of three feet.

Nearby words

Origin of berm

1720–30; < French berme < Dutch berm; akin to brim¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for berm

As I reach the berm of sand, tile and stucco that marked a kind of front line, bodies are being piled on carts in the street.
Who Is Behind Gaza's Mass Execution?|Jesse Rosenfeld|August 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In fortification, a word sometimes used for berm (which see).
The Sailor's Word-Book|William Henry Smyth
The minimum breadth of the berm was laid down as three feet.
The History of the 51st (Highland) Division 1914-1918|Frederick William Bewsher
BERM (probably a variant of “brim”), a narrow ledge of ground, generally the level banks of a river.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 6|Various

"And you're directly responsible to the company for that berm construction," broke in Burford hotly.
The Hallowell Partnership|Katharine Holland Brown
With the help of the ladder they ascended the berm and measured the height of the wall.
Forty-one years in India|Frederick Sleigh Roberts

British Dictionary definitions for berm

berm

berme

noun

a narrow path or ledge at the edge of a slope, road, or canal

NZ the grass verge of a suburban street, usually kept mown

fortifications a narrow path or ledge between a moat and a rampart

military a man-made ridge of sand, designed as an obstacle to tanks, which, in crossing it, have to expose their vulnerable underparts

Word Origin for berm

C18: from French berme, from Dutch berm, probably from Old Norse barmr brim

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for berm

berm

"narrow ledge," 1729, from French berme (17c.), from Old Dutch baerm "edge of a dike," probably related to brim (q.v.). In U.S., 19c., also the name for the bank of a canal opposite the tow path.

Science definitions for berm

berm

[bûrm]

A nearly horizontal or landward-sloping portion of a beach formed by the deposition of sediment by storm waves. A beach may have no berm at all, or it may have more than one berm.

A narrow man-made ledge or shelf, as along the top or bottom of a slope.

berm

noun

verb (used with object)

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of berm

Examples from the Web for berm

berm

berme

noun

Word Origin for berm

berm

berm