retaining wall

American  

noun

1. a wall for holding in place a mass of earth or the like, as at the edge of a terrace or excavation.

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retaining wall British  

noun

1. Also called: revetment.  a wall constructed to hold back earth, loose rock, etc

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Etymology

Origin of retaining wall

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

Body-worn camera footage released by the department showed Wolak, Zhou and a CHP officer standing on a retaining wall next to a fence that separated a neighbor’s home from Lauren’s property.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

The bridge was closed on 20 September after extensive cracking was discovered in a retaining wall creating "an unacceptable risk to public safety", the DfI said.

From BBC • Oct. 27, 2025

There is a bench shaped like a butterfly, a retaining wall with a snake sculpture, and a green metal gate with an arch in the form of a giant toad.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 23, 2025

They ran, some barefoot in the mud, up a steep hill beyond the property’s retaining wall.

From Salon • Jul. 17, 2025

My fingers bled from scraping out the rocks and it seemed that a square yard of ground produced a wheelbarrow full of rocks which I had to push down to the retaining wall.

From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya