Dictionary

embankment en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• [ɪmˈbæŋkmənt] ~ [ɪmˈbæŋkmn̩t] without æ-raising
• [ɪmˈbeɪ̯ŋkmənt] ~ [ɪmˈbeɪ̯ŋkmn̩t] (Canada, US)
• /ɪmˈbeɪ̯ŋkmənt/ (Canada, US)
• (US) audio
• [ɪmˈbɛ̃ŋkmənt] ~ [ɪmˈbɛ̃ŋkmn̩t] (Canada, US)
• /ɪmˈbæŋkmənt/ without æ-raising
• /ɪmˈbɛ̃ŋkmənt/ (Canada, US)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Italic *en Proto-Italic *en- Latin in- Old French en-bor. Middle English en- English en- English bank English embank Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥tom Proto-Italic *-mentom Latin -mentum Old French -mentbor. Middle English -ment English -ment English embankment From embank + -ment.

Meanings

1. A long mound of earth, stone, or similar material, usually built for purposes such as to hold back or store water, for protection from weather or enemies, or to support a road or railway.
   • A Sacramento carjacking suspect was arrested in Truckee after police said he crashed a stolen vehicle down an embankment before running into a wooded area, officials said Tuesday. 2026 August 18, Richard Ramos, “Sacramento carjacking suspect arrested in Truckee after crash”, in CBS News, archived from the original on 20 Aug 2026:
   • For thousands of years, societies have stored water, altered river flow, and transformed environments to increase food production or achieve other social or economic goals. The oldest known dam, a small earth embankment structure built about six thousand years ago at Jawa in present-day Jordan, was designed to capture rainfall and increase agricultural production. 2006, David P. Billington, Donald Conrad Jackson, Big Dams of the New Deal Era, University of Oklahoma Press, →ISBN:
   • Sink a trench so the pipe of your water-works will be below ground; have the pump and the mules which work it at such a point and so defended by an epaulement or traverse, or some other defensive embankment, as to shield them. 1897, anonymous author, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, U.S. Government Printing Office, pages 981–:
   • The work to be done under these specifications consists in furnishing all materials and erecting a stone embankment, an earth embankment, and a wharf. The stone embankment will contain about 216,000 tons of stone; the earth embankment about 285,000 cubic yards of broken stone, sand, or other suitable material; and the wharf will contain 501,320 feet of timber, and 802 piles, together with the requisite quantity of cast iron mooring bits, wrought iron spikes, bolts, etc. 1886, anonymous author, California Legislature Journal Appendix:

Forms

Deriveds

Victoria Embankment

Translations (56)

de Eindeichung (artificial mound of earth and stone) · bg дига (artificial mound of earth and stone) · mi maioro (for fortification) (artificial mound of earth and stone) · bg насип (artificial mound of earth and stone) · it argine (artificial mound of earth and stone) · akk kārum (artificial mound of earth and stone) · de Dammschüttung (artificial mound of earth and stone) · cs násep (artificial mound of earth and stone) · egy i-x-m-t-N36 (artificial mound of earth and stone) · cmn 堤岸 (artificial mound of earth and stone) · eo digo (artificial mound of earth and stone) · vec àrxen (artificial mound of earth and stone) · sh zagat (artificial mound of earth and stone) · fi penkka (artificial mound of earth and stone) · haw kuāuna (artificial mound of earth and stone) · hi बंधा (artificial mound of earth and stone) · vec terajo (artificial mound of earth and stone) · pl wał (artificial mound of earth and stone) · sv fördämning (artificial mound of earth and stone) · ja 盛土 (artificial mound of earth and stone) · pl nasyp (artificial mound of earth and stone) · ru на́сыпь (artificial mound of earth and stone) · sq argjinaturë (artificial mound of earth and stone) · ug كۆتەرمە (artificial mound of earth and stone) · cy clawdd (artificial mound of earth and stone) · pam tarundung (artificial mound of earth and stone) · de Bahndamm (artificial mound of earth and stone) · de Böschung (artificial mound of earth and stone) · da dige (artificial mound of earth and stone) · uk наси́п (artificial mound of earth and stone) · ro terasament (artificial mound of earth and stone) · ru на́бережная (artificial mound of earth and stone) · grc πρόχωσις (artificial mound of earth and stone) · ja 堤防 (artificial mound of earth and stone) · vec àrđen (artificial mound of earth and stone) · et vall (artificial mound of earth and stone) · vec àrzare (artificial mound of earth and stone) · gv cleih (artificial mound of earth and stone) · da dæmning (artificial mound of earth and stone) · fr chaussée (artificial mound of earth and stone) · pt dique (artificial mound of earth and stone) · fi penger (artificial mound of earth and stone) · tl pimpin (artificial mound of earth and stone) · mi oneone (artificial mound of earth and stone) · es terraplén (artificial mound of earth and stone) · fr talus (artificial mound of earth and stone) · hu töltés (artificial mound of earth and stone) · ota اور (artificial mound of earth and stone) · fi valli (artificial mound of earth and stone) · ml ചിറ (artificial mound of earth and stone) · hi तटबंध (artificial mound of earth and stone) · ko 방조제 (artificial mound of earth and stone) · mi parepare (artificial mound of earth and stone) · sh nasip (artificial mound of earth and stone) · nl waterkering (artificial mound of earth and stone) · ca terraplè (artificial mound of earth and stone)