alluvial
Americanadjective
noun
-
alluvial soil.
-
Australia. gold-bearing alluvial soil.
adjective
noun
-
another name for alluvium
-
alluvium containing any heavy mineral, esp gold
Other Word Forms
- nonalluvial adjective
Etymology
Origin of alluvial
First recorded in 1795–1805; alluvi(um) + -al 1
Explanation
Alluvial refers to the stuff left behind by running water. Think of a city in the aftermath of a flood — streets littered with things that had once been floating — tree branches, parts of buildings, and lots of sand and silt. Alluvial comes from the Latin word for washed, but the stuff water leaves behind doesn't often feel clean. In fact, the word is so closely associated with leftover debris that its meaning goes beyond flooding. If you have a party when your parents are out of town, you’d better get up early and clean up all the alluvial evidence.
Vocabulary lists containing alluvial
Water Hazard: Words for Too Much Moisture
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Canada - Middle School and High School
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Cosmos
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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.
Cholla gardens and brittlebush rise from pale alluvial slopes, and a seasonal stream leads to one of California’s few native fan palm oases.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026
“The weaker alluvial sediments can amplify shaking, and mountains are vulnerable to landsliding, including along the roads that lead to mountain villages.”
From National Geographic • Sep. 11, 2023
Prospectors call it “flood gold” — fine-sized flakes carried by alluvial waters and then deposited as flow recedes.
From Seattle Times • May 22, 2023
Whereas the unpredictable flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in southern Mesopotamia commonly brought destruction along with fresh alluvial deposits, the Nile’s summer flooding, predictable as clockwork, brought only welcome deposits of rich sediment.
From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023
The soil around Manzanar is alluvial and very rich.
From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston
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.
