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

Purifoy’s fantastical assemblages made of found objects and unloved detritus provided the most fitting example of the creative desert mindset.

From Los Angeles Times

Yet one of Ms. Lewin’s main arguments is that writing gets done in transitory and chaotic spaces, too: in cafes, at kitchen tables, on the train and amid a fair amount of clutter and detritus.

From The Wall Street Journal

Seve has let the detritus of life pile up around him — literally — with delivery packages and plastic-wrapped clothes overrunning his tiny Baltimore apartment.

From Los Angeles Times

He worries that even more detritus will wash up on the beach in the future.

From BBC

Dotting the shoreline is a bleak expanse of detritus: timeworn pumps, tottering derricks, wayward cranes and aging pipelines.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• rubble