detritus

American  

[dih-trahy-tuhs] / dɪˈtraɪ təs /

noun

1. rock in small particles or other material worn or broken away from a mass, as by the action of water or glacial ice.

2. any disintegrated material; debris.

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detritus British  

/ dɪˈtraɪtəs /

noun

1. a loose mass of stones, silt, etc, worn away from rocks

2. an accumulation of disintegrated material or debris

3. the organic debris formed from the decay of organisms

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detritus Scientific  

/ dĭ-trī′təs /

1. Loose fragments, such as sand or gravel, that have been worn away from rock.

2. Matter produced by the decay or disintegration of an organic substance.

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Other Word Forms

• detrital adjective

Etymology

Origin of detritus

1785–95; < French détritus < Latin: a rubbing away, equivalent to dētrī-, variant stem of dēterere to wear down, rub off ( de- de- + terere to rub) + -tus suffix of v. action

Example Sentences

In these photos, we find artifacts of childhood mixed with the detritus of adolescence.

From The Wall Street Journal

Again, how much of that detritus exists, and how essential is it to the story of the band or the album?

From Salon

It is the place where the detritus of our children’s accomplishments has settled.

From The Wall Street Journal

The pair said they were worried about the potential fire hazard caused by the rubbish, with the detritus outside the property including soft furnishings and abandoned gas canisters.

From BBC

On that LP, he explored the aesthetic surfaces of advertising, sampling fragments of jingles and other sonic detritus and arranging them into haunting new shapes.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• rubble