scarp

[ skahrp ]

noun

1. a line of cliffs formed by the faulting or fracturing of the earth's crust; an escarpment.
2. Fortification. an escarp.

verb (used with object)

1. to form or cut into a steep slope.

scarp

/ skɑːp /

noun

1. a steep slope, esp one formed by erosion or faulting; escarpment See also cuesta
2. fortifications the side of a ditch cut nearest to and immediately below a rampart

verb

1. tr; often passive to wear or cut so as to form a steep slope

scarp

/ skärp /

1. A continuous line of cliffs produced by vertical movement of the Earth's crust along a fault or by erosion. The term is often used interchangeably with escarpment but is more accurately associated with cliffs produced by faulting rather than those produced by erosional processes.

Word History and Origins

Origin of scarp¹

First recorded in 1580–90, scarp is from the Italian word scarpa a slope. See escarp

Word History and Origins

Origin of scarp¹

C16: from Italian scarpa

Example Sentences

There are also individual large boulders cemented into the front of the scarp, suggesting that the region saw high floods, says Perseverance deputy project scientist Katie Stack Morgan of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, Calif.

From Science News

They consisted of a trench seven feet deep; the bottom, from scarp to counterscarp, six feet broad; the top thirteen feet broad.

From Project Gutenberg

And he walked to the window and looked down the steep scarp to where the river foamed in the bottom of the dell.

From Project Gutenberg

From the buttress foot a sheep-walk goes along the scarp—see, you can follow it from here in the dry grass.

From Project Gutenberg

The upland district on the western bank of the Trent terminates in an abrupt craggy scarp above the wide and level valley.

From Project Gutenberg

Reid seized that interval, and crying “Come on,” leaped over the scarp, and rushed up to the very walls.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bluff
• crag
• precipice
• wall