Boulder
1 Americannoun
noun
noun
-
a smooth rounded mass of rock that has a diameter greater than 25cm and that has been shaped by erosion and transported by ice or water from its original position
-
geology a rock fragment with a diameter greater than 256 mm and thus bigger than a cobble
Other Word Forms
- bouldered adjective
- bouldery adjective
Etymology
Origin of boulder
1610–20; short for boulder stone; Middle English bulderston < Scandinavian; compare dialectal Swedish bullersten big stone (in a stream), equivalent to buller rumbling noise (< Old Swedish bulder ) + sten stone
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Residents at the time described seeing slurry carrying "trees and big boulders", and buildings left deep in sludge and mud.
From BBC
They can be minor, covering roads and driveways with muck, or large and destructive, capable of moving cars at speeds of up to 35 mph and pummeling homes with boulders and a wall of mud.
From Los Angeles Times
Nearby, large boulders tumbled onto Highway 14, blocking lanes of traffic.
From Los Angeles Times
“There are some of the water marks,” he said, pointing to a line of whitish minerals coating the dark volcanic boulders, where water had once lapped.
From Los Angeles Times
Firefighters rescued a goat from a baaaad predicament after she took a tumble from the top of her favorite napping rock and found herself trapped in between two minivan-sized boulders.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
