alluvium
a deposit of sand, mud, etc., formed by flowing water.
the sedimentary matter deposited thus within recent times, especially in the valleys of large rivers.
Origin of alluvium
1Words Nearby alluvium
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use alluvium in a sentence
In his wanderings, he had panned the alluvium of many small streams and had recovered more than the usual amount of gold.
David Lannarck, Midget | George S. HarneyPerhaps the alluvium of a great river like the McKenzie, has determined this displacement.
The Ethnology of the British Colonies and Dependencies | Robert Gordon LathamThe soil of Egypt is, then, simply an alluvium mixed with the sand which the winds bring from the Desert.
The Desert World | Arthur Manginalluvium, al-lū′vi-um, n. the mass of water-borne matter deposited by rivers on lower lands:—pl.
The shores of Lake St. Clair are formed of a fertile alluvium, resting on drift.
Summary Narrative of an Exploratory Expedition to the Sources of the Mississippi River, in 1820 | Henry Rowe Schoolcraft
British Dictionary definitions for alluvium
/ (əˈluːvɪəm) /
a fine-grained fertile soil consisting of mud, silt, and sand deposited by flowing water on flood plains, in river beds, and in estuaries
Origin of alluvium
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for alluvium
[ ə-lōō′vē-əm ]
Sand, silt, clay, gravel, or other matter deposited by flowing water, as in a riverbed, floodplain, delta, or alluvial fan. Alluvium is generally considered a young deposit in terms of geologic time.
Other words from alluvium
- alluvial adjective
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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