toe wall

English

Noun

toe wall (plural toe walls)

1. A low retaining wall, e.g. at the bottom of a slope or cliff.
   • 1940 October, Charles E. Lee, “Chalk Falls between Folkestone and Dover”, in Railway Magazine, page 533:

     No such influences are, however, at work on the cliffs to the north of the railway, where it is in the open, as the railway embankment itself and the toe wall at the bottom prevent such action [erosion by the sea]. A new toe wall has recently been constructed from the Dover end of Abbotscliff tunnel in the direction of Shakespeare colliery, but there remains a length of about 200 yd. to be done to complete the scheme.

References

• “toe wall”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.