noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/ɪmˈbæŋkmənt/without æ-raising
[ɪmˈbæŋkmənt] ~ [ɪmˈbæŋkmn̩t]without æ-raising
Canada, US:/ɪmˈbeɪ̯ŋkmənt/
Canada, US:[ɪmˈbeɪ̯ŋkmənt] ~ [ɪmˈbeɪ̯ŋkmn̩t]
Canada, US:/ɪmˈbɛ̃ŋkmənt/
Canada, US:[ɪmˈbɛ̃ŋkmənt] ~ [ɪmˈbɛ̃ŋkmn̩t]
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:EH0 M B AE1 NG K M AH0 N T
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 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.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
a long artificial mound of stone or earth; built to hold back water or to support a road or as protection
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: mound, hill
Narrower terms: levee, rampart, bulwark, wall
History
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.
Across languages
Translations
56 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Akkadian:
kārum
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Albanian:
argjinaturë
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Bulgarian:
дига
(diga)
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Bulgarian:
насип
(nasip)
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Catalan:
terraplè
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Chinese Mandarin:
堤岸
(dī'àn)
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Czech:
násep
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Danish:
dæmning
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Danish:
dige
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Dutch:
waterkering
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Egyptian:
i-x-m-t-N36
(jḫmt)
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Esperanto:
digo
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Estonian:
vall
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Finnish:
valli
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Finnish:
penger
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Finnish:
penkka
— artificial mound of earth and stone
French:
chaussée
— artificial mound of earth and stone
French:
talus
— artificial mound of earth and stone
German:
Böschung
— artificial mound of earth and stone
German:
Bahndamm
— artificial mound of earth and stone
German:
Dammschüttung
— artificial mound of earth and stone
German:
Eindeichung
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Ancient Greek:
πρόχωσις
(prókhōsis)
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Hawaiian:
kuāuna
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Hindi:
तटबंध
(taṭbandh)
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Hindi:
बंधा
(bandhā)
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Hungarian:
töltés
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Italian:
argine
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Japanese:
堤防
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Japanese:
盛土
(morido)
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Kapampangan:
tarundung
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Korean:
방조제
(bangjoje)
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Malayalam:
ചിറ
(ciṟa)
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Manx:
cleih
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Māori:
oneone
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Māori:
maioro (for fortification)
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Māori:
parepare
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Polish:
nasyp
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Polish:
wał
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Portuguese:
dique
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Romanian:
terasament
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Russian:
на́бережная
(náberežnaja)
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Russian:
на́сыпь
(násypʹ)
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Serbo-Croatian:
zagat
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Serbo-Croatian:
nasip
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Spanish:
terraplén
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Swedish:
fördämning
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Tagalog:
pimpin
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Ottoman Turkish:
اور
(or)
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Ukrainian:
наси́п
(nasýp)
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Uyghur:
كۆتەرمە
(köterme)
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Venetan:
terajo
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Venetan:
àrzare
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Venetan:
àrxen
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Venetan:
àrđen
— artificial mound of earth and stone
Welsh:
clawdd
— artificial mound of earth and stone
