debris

or dé·bris

[ duh-bree, dey-bree or, esp. British, deb-ree ]

/ dəˈbri, ˈdeɪ bri or, esp. British, ˈdɛb ri /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR debris ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the remains of anything broken down or destroyed; ruins; rubble: the debris of buildings after an air raid.

Geology. an accumulation of loose fragments of rock.

Nearby words

Origin of debris

1700–10; < French débris, Middle French debris, derivative of debriser to break up (in pieces), Old French debrisier (de- de- + brisier to break; see bruise)

SYNONYMS FOR debris

1. detritus, litter, trash.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR debris ON THESAURUS.COM

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for debris

Strong currents and winds, however, mean any debris could be drifting up to 31 miles a day eastward, away from the impact zone.
Wreckage, Bodies of AirAsia Crash Found|Lennox Samuels|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A number of bottles and other debris came down upon the demonstrators and cops on the roadway from the pedestrian walkway above.
Protesters Slimed This Good Samaritan Cop|Michael Daly|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I asked a former NASA astronaut, who cannot be quoted on the record, to look at photographs of the debris.
Clues From SpaceShipTwo’s Wreckage: Did the Crew Compartment Fail?|Clive Irving|November 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They said that the rest eventually sank beneath the surface—some after bobbing in the water clinging to debris for several hours.
Hundreds of Migrants are Reported Drowned by Traffickers Near Malta|Barbie Latza Nadeau|September 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST

There was one very large and easily identifiable piece of debris floating, the vertical stabilizer.
MH370 Debris Is Lost Forever, Can the Plane Be Found Without It?|Clive Irving|September 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There are but five vessels in port, chiefly English, which will suffice to carry away the debris of the cotton crop.
Pictures of Southern Life|William Howard Russell
Around him and on top of him lay the debris of a shelf of canned fruit.
The Camp Fire Girls Solve a Mystery|Hildegard G. Frey
He pulled the front one away and examined the debris that seems to collect under car seats.
The Egyptian Cat Mystery|Harold Leland Goodwin
Did you examine the shirt to determine the presence of hairs or other debris?
Warren Commission (4 of 26): Hearings Vol. IV (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
She led the way to a marble block covered with worn-out carvings and almost buried in the debris.
When the World Shook|H. Rider Haggard

British Dictionary definitions for debris

debris

dbris

/ (ˈdeɪbrɪ, ˈdɛbrɪ) /

noun

fragments or remnants of something destroyed or broken; rubble

a collection of loose material derived from rocks, or an accumulation of animal or vegetable matter

Word Origin for debris

C18: from French, from obsolete debrisier to break into pieces, from bruisier to shatter, of Celtic origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for debris

debris

1708, from French débris "remains, waste, rubbish" (16c.), from obsolete debriser "break down, crush," from Old French de- (see de-) + briser "to break," from Late Latin brisare, possibly of Gaulish origin (cf. Old Irish brissim "I break").