sandcastle

American  

[sand-kas-uhl, -kah-suhl] / ˈsændˌkæs əl, -ˌkɑ səl /

noun

• sandcastles
  plural

1. a small castlelike structure made of wet sand, as by children at a beach.

2. a plan or idea with little substance.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• sandcastles
  plural

Etymology

Origin of sandcastle

First recorded in 1850–55; sand + castle

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sandcastle sandcastles

Swimming, sailing, even just building a sandcastle - the ocean benefits our physical and mental wellbeing.

From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2024

TORRES: I equate it to building a sandcastle where you don’t really start out with a blueprint.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 5, 2024

But that whole life was gone in the fire, toppled like a sandcastle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 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

He still looks like he lost a battle with a sandcastle.

From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

With dreams of this inheritance, you were building sandcastles in the sky, a future without any foundation.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2025

Here, the Edgar can be seen chasing butterflies through Griffith Park, building sandcastles on Zuma Beach and falling asleep during Mass at Our Lady Queen of Angels.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2023

"We just got here, so I'll look at the menu, get in the water, build some sandcastles with baby girl and then circle back in about an hour."

From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2023

There was the beach, where people swam, and surfed, and built sandcastles, and then the vast expanses offshore, which you had to get in a boat to see.

From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2022

Megan liked to build sandcastles and collect shells and play sand tennis and read magazines.

From "The Lemonade War" by Jacqueline Davies