earthworknoun [ C usually plural ]
uk/ˈɜːθ.wɜːk/us/ˈɝːθ.wɝrk/a raised area of earth made, especially in the past, for defence against enemy attack
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Fortifications
- acropolis
- barricade
- bastion
- battlements
- castle
- citadel
- drawbridge
- enceinte
- entanglement
- fort
- Fort Knox
- foxhole
- keep
- moat
- moated
- pillbox
- portcullis
- rampart
- stronghold
- turret
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Examples from literature
- Not far from where the boys landed they discovered the time-worn earthworks of what had once been the old fort.
- The city of Boston was girdled by rapidly increasing earthworks.
- The gun-boats threw heavy shells into the fort and behind the earthworks all night, keeping the enemy awake and anxious.
- The spot chosen was levelled, a strong earthwork was erected round it, and then the surrounding ground was removed.
- We were sitting, the three of us, in a slanting fashion with our backs to the earthworks of the trench.