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.
On the morning of 6 April 2009, a lorry driver pulled off the M4 and parked in an underpass near Porthcawl, south Wales, and spotted a suitcase in an embankment.
From BBC • Feb. 7, 2026
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
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
The horse picked his way carefully, and then ahead the path dropped down a steep embankment; and beyond that, Winnie, peering around Mae’s bulk, saw a flash of color and a dazzling sparkle.
From "Tuck Everlasting" by Natalie Babbit
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.
