remnant

American  

[rem-nuhnt] / ˈrɛm nənt /

noun

1. a remaining, usually small part, quantity, number, or the like.

   Synonyms:

   remains , rest , residuum , residue , remainder

2. a fragment or scrap.

3. a small, unsold or unused piece of cloth, lace, etc., as at the end of a bolt.

4. a trace; vestige.

   remnants of former greatness.

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adjective

1. remaining; leftover.

remnant British  

/ ˈrɛmnənt /

noun

1. (often plural) a part left over after use, processing, etc

2. a surviving trace or vestige, as of a former era

   a remnant of imperialism

3. a piece of material from the end of a roll, sold at a lower price

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adjective

1. remaining; left over

Other Word Forms

• remnantal adjective

Etymology

Origin of remnant

1300–50; Middle English remna ( u ) nt, contraction of remenant < Old French, present participle of remenoir to remain

Example Sentences

Leftover pizza gets cut up, crisped on the stove and mixed into scrambled eggs—a remnant from Duggal’s college days that she has christened “pizza eggs.”

From The Wall Street Journal

These fast-moving particles may have been created in extreme environments such as black holes, star forming regions or the remnants of exploded stars.

From Science Daily

“There’s remnants of what the ride became,” Hahn says, pointing to the map’s depictions of tunnels and sandy areas with hidden loot.

From Los Angeles Times

Since the project’s first album in 2007, he has been unearthing abandoned remnants of music history and rewiring them for our fragmented present.

From The Wall Street Journal

This resolves a long-standing tension in cosmic ray research: while supernova remnants are known to produce cosmic rays, both data and theory suggest they cannot account for the energies seen at and above the "knee."

From Science Daily

Related Words

• bit
• fragment
• particle
• piece
• remains
• residue
• shred
• vestige