the more or less fine debris of rocks, consisting of small, loose grains, often of quartz.
Usually sands. a tract or region composed principally of sand.
the sand or a grain of sand in an hourglass.
sands, moments of time or of one's life.
At this stage of his career the sands are running out.
a light reddish- or brownish-yellow color.
Informal. courage; pluck.
to smooth or polish with sand, sandpaper, or some other abrasive.
to sand the ends of a board.
to sprinkle with or as if with sand.
to sand an icy road.
to fill up with sand, as a harbor.
to add sand to.
The mischievous child sanded the sugar.
loose material consisting of rock or mineral grains, esp rounded grains of quartz, between 0.05 and 2 mm in diameter
(often plural) a sandy area, esp on the seashore or in a desert
a greyish-yellow colour
( as adjective )
sand upholstery
the grains of sandlike material in an hourglass
informal courage; grit
to put a stop to or a limit on
there is not much time left before death or the end
(tr) to smooth or polish the surface of with sandpaper or sand
to sand a floor
(tr) to sprinkle or cover with or as if with sand; add sand to
to fill or cause to fill with sand
the channel sanded up
before 900; Middle English (noun), Old English; cognate with German Sand, Old Norse sandr
Sand is a substance that's made of tiny pieces of rock. The sand on some beaches is rough and pebbly, while other sand is smooth and soft. Either way, don't track it into the house. You can find sand on riverbanks, in flower beds, and in sandboxes, among many other places. Grains of sand are composed of rocks and coral that have been worn down over the years. As a verb, sand means "make smooth with sandpaper." There's also an old fashioned colloquial way to use this word, to mean "determination" or "grit." So you could say, "I'm impressed that she had the sand to travel in India by herself!"
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The aircraft hit the sand and rolled for about 100 feet before Mike made a hard turn, forcing the aircraft to brake and enabling the pair to emerge unscathed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Hundreds of firefighters have over the past few days been battling blazes in the southwest of France famous for its sand dunes, pine trees, and oyster shacks.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
Motherwell were fined £5,000 for releasing a video with the caption: "As the world of football mocks our game, we simply have to draw a line in the sand and shift the focus."
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Over time, material such as pollen, sand, plant remains, and organic matter settles at the bottom of a lake, building a layered record of past environmental conditions.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026
I had just started locing my hair and I made the unwise decision to roll around and get sand all through it.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
"There's a great opportunity, if you look at the Simon Sand area along to Les Mielles, to create an area of outstanding natural beauty".
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
"Let's take sand as an example. Sand is smooth and convex-shaped, meaning it cannot interlock from grain to grain," PhD student Youhan Sohn said.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 15, 2026
Representatives for Fisher Sand & Gravel and Barnard did not respond to requests for comment.
From Salon ● May 25, 2026
That evening, after a hike to Green Sand Beach, I complete the “Choice Creates Cooperation” deck.
From Slate ● May 10, 2026
Sand swirled gently as I spoke, spinning into pillars, walls, and waterfalls, until a small replica of the throne room appeared in front of us.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
“Parents get to relax while their children dig around in the sand. White-collar and blue-collar workers alike get a respite from their jobs.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
“I don’t have friends anymore. Our whole life has turned to sand. When I go out to the prayer area, I feel anxious, and hesitant. I don’t feel right.”
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2024
“It looks like sand. It’s horrible,” JSerra coach Brett Kay said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 17, 2024
“There is no mattress for me to sleep on. I am sleeping on the sand. It’s freezing.”
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 9, 2023
“Tonight I’m in love with the whole world. Everything of the earth. The dirt. The sand. The sky. That cave we went inside the other night.”
From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña
On the sands of Abersoch in Gwynedd, Beach Hut 7 is a timber and corrugated iron cabin, one of only 17 on the right-hand side of the stretch of coast.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026
Australian miner Iluka Resources is also building a refinery in the country that will initially process stockpiled material from its mineral sands operations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
The sands of Oceano Dunes — the only state park where visitors are usually allowed to drive on the beach — are unusually quiet right now.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2026
The car, known as Babs, set a world record on the sands of Pendine 100 years ago with Welsh racing driver JG Parry-Thomas behind the wheel.
From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2026
It reached into its dark body and pulled forth the pouch containing the moon sands.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
That appeal could strengthen if Texas embeds tax restrictions in its constitution and guarantees that corporate investments won’t be sanded down by policy changes years later.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2025
Who they are is sanded down, flattened, and made into a caricature.
From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2025
Over the following months the wood is cut, settled, rounded, spliced, planed, fitted with a brass tip and leather pad, sanded in nine different ways, oiled, and finally waxed, before being complete.
From BBC ● May 2, 2025
“They go around the cheekbone and are sanded on the bottom so it doesn’t rip the skin,” Vitti told The Times in 1994.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2024
They were heavy constructions of plywood, a sanded dowel for backstroke starts, puke-green carpet torn from somebody's basement stapled into the sloping tops for traction, and lane numbers spray-painted in orange on the backs.
From "The Miseducation of Cameron Post" by emily m. danforth
The pad of my left foot felt as if I’d stepped on a sanding belt.
From Slate ● Jun. 5, 2026
And they have assisted 3M in coming up with a sanding disc that optimizes dust collection and grinding performance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 24, 2026
Made with real Muscat grape juice, these gummies feature a jelly-like center and are coated in a decent amount of sour sanding.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2025
Wednesday's report revealed the driver was supposed to check the sanding system, but was unable to do so because the train was parked next to a platform.
From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2025
Joe Cassini was checking the sanding job on the bridge railing when the first peal of thunder rumbled.
From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
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.
