sand
noun
the more or less fine debris of rocks, consisting of small, loose grains, often of quartz.
sand
1 American
[sand]
/ sænd /
noun
-
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.
verb (used with object)
-
sands,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sanded,
past participle, past
-
sanding
present participle
-
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.
idioms
Sand
2
American
[sand, sahn d]
/ sænd, sɑ̃d /
noun
sand.
3
American
abbreviation
sand
1
British
/ sænd /
noun
-
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
verb
-
(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
Sand
2
British
/ sɑ̃d /
noun
sand
Scientific
/ sănd /
sand
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
sandsimple
-
sandssimple
-
have sandedperfect
-
has sandedperfect
-
am sandingprogressive
-
are sandingprogressive
-
is sandingprogressive
-
have been sandingperfect progressive
-
has been sandingperfect progressive
Past
-
sandedsimple
-
had sandedperfect
-
was sandingprogressive
-
were sandingprogressive
-
had been sandingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sand
before 900; Middle English (noun), Old English; cognate with German Sand, Old Norse sandr
Explanation
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!"
Vocabulary lists containing sand
Brown
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Earth Science - Middle School
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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.
See Examples For:
In the Permian Basin in West Texas, on any given day, 500 to 600 trucks are deployed delivering frack sand for Detmar Logistics, which operates 24 hours-a-day, 365 days a year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
When you make things from raw materials like sand, that’s almost impossible.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
While tracking elephants in Namibia's Huab River Valley, Veronesi spotted an unusual trail of drag marks across the sand of a dry riverbed.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
Beaches typically go through a seasonal cycle with powerful winter waves dragging sand out to sea and more mild summer waves depositing the sand back onshore.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
His voice was low and grainy, as if he’d eaten the sand his boat was moored on.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Mr. Sand is promising to do something similar.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Turek could also benefit from the strong campaign being waged by gubernatorial front-runner Rob Sand, who tops the Democratic ticket.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
Warwick Road was closed on Monday from the Marraway roundabout to its junction with Ingon Lane and Sand Barn Lane, with the stretch remaining shut on Tuesday morning.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
State Auditor Rob Sand is the only Democrat in statewide office.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Sand was in his hair, his face, his clothes.
From "The Boy Who Met a Whale" by Nizrana Farook
“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
“Unlike politicians of the past, I refuse to bury my head in the sand. I refuse to ignore the problems we face,” Hobbs said Monday in her state of the state address.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 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
“I am sleeping on the sand. It’s freezing,” said Soad Qarmoot, who described herself as a cancer patient forced to leave her home in the northern town of Beit Lahiya.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 9, 2023
“It’s light brown, like sand. A little golden.”
From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz
Unlike the scrolls from Herculaneum, those documents survived because they were buried in Egypt's dry sands.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026
After all, the sands of our emotional and financial landscapes keep shifting, not always in sync.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026
The Nazca Lines are a group of geoglyphs etched into the desert sands that date back to between 500 BC and 500 AD.
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
Plenty have adopted a new mind-set, holding society's goals more loosely, and learning to thrive on shifting sands.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Then she turned and spoke to the creatures on the sands.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
The trio sanded the edges of Colleton’s original whimsy, borrowed some of the moderation discipline from the tables and gave the project a name: American Dialogues.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Its throwing arm, currently at 12 o’clock, weighs 360 pounds and is not hewn or sanded; knots are visible in the wood.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 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
He is very blond and buffed — not buff but, like sanded and polished.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2024
Inside the house, they sanded and polished the scratches out of the furniture.
From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer
But she didn’t want to tackle sanding, disassembling and repainting the latter entirely.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
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
Pocock had spent his days at Travers Island carefully sanding down the shell’s hull and then applying coat after coat of marine varnish, buffing each coat until the shell glistened.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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