sludge

American  

[sluhj] / slʌdʒ /

noun

1. mud, mire, or ooze; slush.

2. a deposit of ooze at the bottom of a body of water.

3. any of various more or less mudlike deposits or mixtures.

4. the sediment in a steam boiler or water tank.

5. broken ice, as on the sea.

6. a mixture of some finely powdered substance and water.

7. sediment deposited during the treatment of sewage.

8. Also called activated sludge.  Bacteriology. sewage sediment that contains a heavy growth of microorganisms, resulting from vigorous aeration.

9. a fine, mudlike powder produced by a mining drill.

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sludge British  

/ slʌdʒ /

noun

1. soft mud, snow, etc

2. any deposit or sediment

3. a surface layer of ice that has a slushy appearance

4. (in sewage disposal) the solid constituents of sewage that precipitate during treatment and are removed for subsequent purification

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Other Word Forms

• de-sludge verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of sludge

First recorded in 1640–50; variant of dialectal slutch, slitch, Middle English slich “slime, wet mud” (compare its derivative slucched “muddy”); apparently of expressive origin

Example Sentences

The tea tasted awful, like pond sludge, and I didn’t dream anything at all.

From Literature

They’ve also been discovered in air, sludge, dirt, dust and drinking water.

From Los Angeles Times

“Like slime, sludge, and muck, slop has the wet sound of something you don’t want to touch,” the editors continued.

From Salon

“This is disgusting,” I say, and promptly dump the whole bowl of sludge into the trash.

From Literature

What’s more, he estimated that about 30 homes were “red tagged,” or currently deemed unsafe to inhabit, after debris flows choked homes with pounds and pounds of sludge.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• goo
• grease
• gunk
• muck
• sediment
• silt
• slime