embankment
Americannoun
-
a bank, mound, dike, or the like, raised to hold back water, carry a roadway, etc.
-
the action of embanking.
noun
Etymology
Origin of embankment
Vocabulary lists containing embankment
"The Grasshopper and the Bell Cricket," Vocabulary from the short story
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Part 1 Vocabulary (Unit 4)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Papoli, 58, of Newport Beach, was found dead Nov. 18 about 75 feet down a steep embankment near Highway 138 and Crestline Road, in the mountain town of Crestline, officials reported.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 26, 2026
It then collided with an oncoming train travelling from south Madrid to Huelva, which was forced into an embankment running alongside the track, Spain's Transport Minister Óscar Puente said on Sunday.
From BBC • Jan. 19, 2026
Some of the carriages had tumbled down an embankment of four metres, Sanz said at his press conference.
From Barron's • Jan. 18, 2026
And snow can obscure the trail entirely, he said — “you think you’re stepping on solid ground and, literally, your whole body drops all the way down to your chest” or, worse, down an embankment.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 31, 2025
Coram turned, careful and slow, and saw in silhouette against the lighted embankment the small head and hulking shoulders of a hyena.
From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
