sandcastle

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A model of a castle shaped from wet sand, usually built by children on a beach.

   Grammar: Takes an or the: the kids built a sandcastle.

   Patterns

   • build a sandcastle
   • a sandcastle collapses

   The children built a huge sandcastle with towers and a moat.

   A wave washed over the sandcastle and flattened it.

   We entered a sandcastle contest on the beach last summer.

2. 2nouncountablefigurative

   Something fragile or short-lived that looks impressive but cannot last.

   Grammar: Used as a comparison: the plan was a sandcastle.

   Patterns

   • a sandcastle of something

   Their empire was a sandcastle that crumbled at the first crisis.

   He realized his careful plan was just a sandcastle against the tide of bad luck.

   The company's profits were a sandcastle built on borrowed money.

Word forms

Common combinations

build a sandcastle

We spent the morning building a sandcastle.

sandcastle contest

The town holds a sandcastle contest every August.

destroy a sandcastle

The tide came in and destroyed the sandcastle.

elaborate sandcastle

An elaborate sandcastle stood by the pier.

sandcastle competition

Her team won the sandcastle competition.

Synonyms and how they differ

sand sculpture

Sand sculpture is a broader and more artistic term covering any figure made of sand, not only castles.

house of cards

House of cards is the figurative equivalent and stresses a structure that collapses at a touch.

castle in the air

Castle in the air means an unrealistic dream, while sandcastle suggests a real thing that is fragile.

Word family

sand noun

tiny grains of rock on a beach

castle noun

a large fortified building

sandy adjective

covered with or like sand

sandbox noun

a box of sand for children to play in

Commonly confused: sandcastle or sandcastle vs. sandbag?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “sandcastle”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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