1
: the inner side of a ditch below the parapet of a fortification
2
a
: a line of cliffs produced by faulting or erosion see fault illustration
b
: a low steep slope along a beach caused by wave erosion
scarped adjective

Examples of scarp in a Sentence

years of violent ocean storms had heavily eroded the beach, creating a scarp along one end of it
Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Surrounding that is the environmental protective garment (EPG), the heavy, visible, outer covering of the suit that protects the astronauts from cuts and punctures on a lunar terrain that bristles with jagged rocks and scarps. Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 18 Oct. 2024 The Juno mission, which has been orbiting Jupiter since 2016, has been studying Europa more closely still, documenting ice walls, scarps, and ridges, all suggestive of a surface in constant motion. Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 4 Oct. 2024 The Racehorse Creek area is home to 50-million-year-old leaf fossils, and ancient landslide, and a modern landslide that created a 90-foot scarp in 2009, the state Department of National Resources says in a primer on the area. Dennis Romero, NBC News, 15 Sep. 2024 Fault scarps are essentially breaks in the ground that are evidence of past earthquakes. Denise Chow, NBC News, 29 Nov. 2023 Shaded relief maps based on lidar data and showing fault scarps in Paradise Valley, Montana. Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 28 Nov. 2023 After receiving Mastcam-Z images of the scarp and SuperCam RMI to provide a more detailed view of the scarp, SuperCam principal investigator Roger Wiens said the images showed there had been a large flash flooding event that occurred, washing boulders down into the delta formation. Julia Musto, Fox News, 25 Sep. 2021 After 14 hours, the waves had carved a small cliff face called a scarp. Byerik Stokstad, science.org, 15 June 2023 Police found Thomas’ body with bullet holes six days after being left in a scarp of desert 20 minutes west of Buckeye. Miguel Torres, The Arizona Republic, 21 Mar. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Italian scarpa

First Known Use

1589, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of scarp was in 1589

Dictionary Entries Near scarp

Cite this Entry

“Scarp.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scarp. Accessed 8 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

scarp

noun
1
: a line of cliffs produced by faulting or erosion
2
: a low steep slope along a beach caused by wave erosion
scarped adjective
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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