detritus

[dih-trahy-tuhs]

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.

detritus

/ 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

detritus

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.

Other Word Forms

• detrital adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of detritus¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of detritus¹

C18: from French détritus, from Latin dētrītus a rubbing away; see _detriment

Example Sentences

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.

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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.

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Until recently, antimony, which is often found in gold mines, was treated as detritus by gold miners.

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Like many people, my garage and closets are littered with the detritus of modern life—from stacks of paperbacks and fancy china to a fussy tea maker, still swaddled in its box.

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Bulldozers are clearing roads, shovelling the detritus of war into waiting trucks.

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Related Words

• rubble