detritus
rock in small particles or other material worn or broken away from a mass, as by the action of water or glacial ice.
any disintegrated material; debris.
Origin of detritus
1Other words from detritus
- de·tri·tal, adjective
Words Nearby detritus
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use detritus in a sentence
Behind those dogs sat grills and bikes and busted washing machines, the regular detritus of life, along with car-sized mounds of one-gallon plastic water bottles.
Postcard From Thermal: Surviving the Climate Gap in Eastern Coachella Valley | by Elizabeth Weil and Mauricio Rodríguez Pons | August 17, 2021 | ProPublicaMartin recommends gathering fallen leaves and other detritus that drop from other plants in your yard, to keep them from smothering your moss.
That detritus can become trapped within the diamonds, becoming features called inclusions.
Diamonds contain remnants of Earth’s ancient atmosphere | Monroe Hammond | July 20, 2021 | Popular-ScienceHe sits in a corner, surrounded by common cards and detritus.
Some immunologists hypothesize that the vaccines might be able to eliminate any remaining virus or viral detritus.
Here’s what we know about kids and long covid | Cassandra Willyard | July 13, 2021 | MIT Technology Review
Perhaps Pappy fans are so insatiable that they even want the detritus of their favorite tot.
Among the garbage was the typical detritus of public gatherings: water bottles, soda cans, candy wrappers.
Crown emerges from the bedroom with a pair of flat black slacks, the cloudy detritus of afterbirth splayed across the seat.
Idaho Woman Who Gave Birth on Highway: ‘I Had to Pull My Pants Down to Get the Baby Out’ | Dale Eisinger | July 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIndeed, they are viewed both as carpet-bagging intruders and low-caste detritus.
Burma’s Rohingya Muslims Targeted by Buddhist Mob Violence | Brendan Brady | June 27, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTHer fantastical accumulations of detritus and throwaway goods can seem to pack more whimsy than wallop.
Near the coast line the effect of the waves is continually to shove the detritus up the slopes of the continental shelf.
Outlines of the Earth's History | Nathaniel Southgate ShalerThe agents which assist gravitation in bearing this detritus downward are many, but they all work together for the same end.
Outlines of the Earth's History | Nathaniel Southgate ShalerIf by chance the detritus accumulates rapidly, the slope is steepened and the work of the torrent made more efficient.
Outlines of the Earth's History | Nathaniel Southgate ShalerFurther study will reveal the fact that the difference is due to the lack of oxidation in the case of the glacial detritus.
Outlines of the Earth's History | Nathaniel Southgate ShalerOften they were found in backwaters and many times schools were taken over bottoms where mud and detritus had been deposited.
Fishes of Chautauqua, Cowley and Elk Counties, Kansas | Artie L. Metcalf
British Dictionary definitions for detritus
/ (dɪˈtraɪtəs) /
a loose mass of stones, silt, etc, worn away from rocks
an accumulation of disintegrated material or debris
the organic debris formed from the decay of organisms
Origin of detritus
1Derived forms of detritus
- detrital, adjective
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
Scientific definitions for detritus
[ dĭ-trī′təs ]
Loose fragments, such as sand or gravel, that have been worn away from rock.
Matter produced by the decay or disintegration of an organic substance.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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