An embankment is a thick wall of earth that is built to carry a road or railway over an area of low ground, or to prevent water from a river or the sea from flooding the area.
They climbed a steep embankment.
...a railway embankment.
...Victoria Embankment.
Synonyms: bank, ridge, mound, causeway More Synonyms of embankment
embankment in British English
(ɪmˈbæŋkmənt)
noun
a man-made ridge of earth or stone that carries a road or railway or confines a waterway
See also levee1
embankment in American English
(ɛmˈbæŋkmənt; ɪmˈbæŋkmənt)
noun
1.
the act or process of embanking
2.
a bank of earth, rubble, etc. used to keep back water, hold up a roadway, or as part of a fortification
Examples of 'embankment' in a sentence
embankment
The nine carriages crashed off the track and down a steep embankment.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
He raised his head and saw the steep embankment wall behind us.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
There is at least one family of foxes in the railway embankment behind us.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
He crawled down the railway embankment to get it working.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Follow the railway embankment where the vines grow and you will find it.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Here the path wobbles above, up on the old railway embankment.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The Thames rose and burst through the embankment walls without warning.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Passengers had to climb a steep 20ft embankment, leap a barrier and dart across two lanes of traffic.
The Sun (2015)
Some miles further on, the belt of fields narrowed beside the river and I could see beyond them to the railway embankment.
Marsden, Philip The Crossing-Place (1993)
The river slaps the embankment as you tiptoe between swaying tomato plants, through an impressive herb garden, past an infant hop plant and a potted olive tree.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
In other languages
embankment
British English: embankment /ɪmˈbæŋkmənt/ NOUN
An embankment is a thick wall built of earth, often supporting a railway line or road.
They climbed a steep embankment.
American English: embankment
Arabic: جِسْر
Brazilian Portuguese: aterro
Chinese: 堤
Croatian: nasip
Czech: násep
Danish: skråning
Dutch: dijk
European Spanish: terraplén
Finnish: penger
French: remblai
German: Damm
Greek: ανάχωμα
Italian: terrapieno
Japanese: 堤防
Korean: 둑
Norwegian: voll
Polish: nabrzeże
European Portuguese: aterro
Romanian: terasament
Russian: насыпь
Latin American Spanish: terraplén
Swedish: vägbank
Thai: เขื่อน
Turkish: istinat duvarı
Ukrainian: насип
Vietnamese: đường đáp cao (cho xe lửa)
Chinese translation of 'embankment'
embankment
(ɪmˈbæŋkmənt)
n(c)
[of road, railway, river]堤(隄) (dī)
(noun)
Definition
a man-made ridge of earth or stone that carries a road or railway or prevents a river or lake from overflowing
They climbed a steep railway embankment.
Synonyms
bank
resting indolently upon a grassy bank
ridge
In some places the ridge is quite a gentle feature.
mound
We sat on a grassy mound and had our picnic.
causeway
rampart
a walk along the ramparts of the old city
earthwork
Additional synonyms
in the sense of mound
Definition
a small natural hill
We sat on a grassy mound and had our picnic.
Synonyms
hill,
bank,
rise,
dune,
embankment,
knoll,
hillock,
kopje or koppie (South Africa)
in the sense of rampart
Definition
a mound of earth or a wall built to protect a fort or city
a walk along the ramparts of the old city
Synonyms
defence,
wall,
parapet,
fortification,
security,
guard,
fence,
fort,
barricade,
stronghold,
bastion,
embankment,
bulwark,
earthwork,
breastwork
in the sense of ridge
Definition
a long narrow raised land formation with sloping sides
In some places the ridge is quite a gentle feature.