berm

[burm]

noun

1. Fortification.,  Also berme. a horizontal surface between the exterior slope of a rampart and the moat.

2. Also called bench. any level strip of ground at the summit or sides, or along the base, of a slope.

3. Also called backshore. Also called beach berm. a nearly flat back portion of a beach, formed of material deposited by the action of the waves.

4. Chiefly Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.,  the bank of a canal or the shoulder of a road.

5. Chiefly Alaska.,  a mound of snow or dirt, as formed when clearing land.

6. a bank of earth placed against an exterior wall or walls of a house or other building as protection against extremes of temperature.

verb (used with object)

1. to cover or protect with a berm.

   The side walls were bermed to a height of three feet.

berm

/ bɜːm /

noun

1. a narrow path or ledge at the edge of a slope, road, or canal

2. the grass verge of a suburban street, usually kept mown

3. fortifications a narrow path or ledge between a moat and a rampart

4. military a man-made ridge of sand, designed as an obstacle to tanks, which, in crossing it, have to expose their vulnerable underparts

berm

1. A nearly horizontal or landward-sloping portion of a beach formed by the deposition of sediment by storm waves. A beach may have no berm at all, or it may have more than one berm.

2. A narrow man-made ledge or shelf, as along the top or bottom of a slope.

Word History and Origins

Origin of berm¹

1720–30; < French berme < Dutch berm; akin to brim ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of berm¹

C18: from French berme , from Dutch berm , probably from Old Norse barmr _brim

Example Sentences

BBC Verify says both sides in the conflict have been using berms as a defensive strategy.

From BBC

The group dissects the photo’s cinematic, informal composition, in which Pildas aims down from a berm, the neglected buildings behind the eclectic crew shrinking into the horizon, merging with the sand.

From Los Angeles Times

In the late afternoon, videos showing chaotic scenes as thousands of men, women and children streamed into the site, walking over torn-down fences and earth berms.

From BBC

Vazquez also said that crews took measures, including installing a type of berm, to prevent burned home debris from washing off properties.

From Los Angeles Times

A snow berm left by this week’s storm obscured the camera’s view into the nest.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• boundary 
• brink 
• corner 
• end 
• fringe 
• line 
• lip 
• margin 
• mouth 
• outskirt 
• perimeter 
• rim 
• shore 
• threshold 
• verge