scarp

Everyday

1. (geography) A steep slope or cliff, often a long line of steep ground where land has been worn away or moved along a fault. tree →
2. (castles) The inner steep wall of a ditch in a fortress. tree →

In the lessons

In geography lessons, a scarp (or escarpment) is the steep side of a ridge; the gentle side is the dip slope. Earthquakes can make fault scarps. In history, castle scarps made attacks hard. Phrases: a steep scarp, scarp slope, fault scarp.

Examples

• The path climbs a steep scarp to the top of the hill. tree →
• In geography we drew the scarp slope and the dip slope. tree →
• The earthquake left a scarp across the field. tree →
• Soldiers could not climb the castle's scarp. tree →
• From the top of the scarp we could see the whole valley. tree →
• Chalk hills often have a scarp on one side. tree →

Note

Short for "escarpment". Countable: a scarp, scarps. Do not confuse with "scrap" or "scarf".