earthwork

From earth +‎ work. First attested in the 1630s.

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɝθwɝk/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɜːθwɜːk/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

earthwork (plural earthworks)

1. Any structure made from earth, especially an embankment used for fortification or flood control.

   Synonym: earthenwork

   • 1946 July and August, “The Railways of Persia”, in Railway Magazine, page 208:

     At the moment only some 35 miles of earthwork have been completed from Qum, and no permanent way has been laid.

   • 2022 July 13, Paul Clifton, “Network News: Fareham Tunnel blockade aids landslip prevention”, in RAIL, number 961, page 32:

     The line was built by navvies using little more than wheelbarrows and shovels, with whatever material was close at hand, and the railway suffered from earthworks problems right from the start.

• See dyke (flood control)
• agger (Roman contexts)

• “earthwork”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.