sandcastle
Americannoun
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a small castlelike structure made of wet sand, as by children at a beach.
-
a plan or idea with little substance.
Etymology
Origin of sandcastle
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.
They’re working hard to make each square inch explorable, creating, at the time of the interview, a sandcastle to be hidden in the restroom.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 29, 2025
Over time, his simple hole in the wall turned into a real-life sandcastle on steroids, filled with recycled wood, metal, ceramic and stone.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 12, 2023
There's laughter, sandcastle construction and everyone - whether they're a captain of industry or a truck driver - is enjoying the great embrace of the ocean.
From BBC • Jul. 6, 2023
But it also should have meant that the court rejected her case out of hand since it's built on a sandcastle of lies.
From Salon • Jul. 3, 2023
Like most mothers, she wielded tremendous power and my staunch resolve would crumble like a sandcastle before her frontal assaults, which were like tidal waves.
From "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride
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.
