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half-dugout

half-dugout

9.9
A shelter partly dug into the ground with walls and a roof made of earth and grass
  • noun
translation icon : media cabaña
  • During the storm, we took cover in an old half-dugout on the prairie.

Examples

  • The half-dugout provided shelter from the harsh winter winds.

  • Early settlers often lived in half-dugouts because they were quick to construct with minimal materials.

  • The pioneers built a half-dugout as a temporary home until their cabin was finished.

  • They built a half-dugout to stay warm during the cold nights.

  • The construction workers built a half-dugout for shelter while they worked on the site.

  • During the camping trip, we slept in a half-dugout made of dirt and grass.

  • The historical exhibit featured a model of a half-dugout that early settlers used for protection.

Synonyms

dugout
vshalf-dugout
4 6.0

A shelter dug into the ground and covered with earth

is a partly sunken temporary shelter usually topped with sod walls and roof
slit trench
vshalf-dugout
  • Specialized
8.6

A narrow ditch in the ground soldiers use for shelter from enemy fire

is a larger partly buried temporary dwelling with sod walls and roof

How Permanent

building
1.0
house
1.0
cabin
351 1.0
hut
217 1.0
half-dugout
9.9
lean-to
6 6.7
tent
514 1.0

Surface Forms

half-dugout singular
half-dugouts plural

Morphology

half-dugout = dugout (transparent) = half + out + dug

The base 'dugout' is a clear compound of 'dug' + 'out' meaning a shelter excavated from the ground, and 'half-' simply means partially.

Etymology

Half-dugout comes from half- meaning 'partly' and dugout meaning 'a place dug out of the ground'. So, a half-dugout is a simple shelter partly built into the earth, like a small house half under the soil with a grass roof.