loam

[ lohm ]

/ loʊm /

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noun

a rich, friable soil containing a relatively equal mixture of sand and silt and a somewhat smaller proportion of clay.

a mixture of clay, sand, straw, etc., used in making molds for founding and in plastering walls, stopping holes, etc.

earth or soil.

Obsolete. clay or clayey earth.

verb (used with object)

to cover or stop with loam.

Nearby words

loaf bread, loaf pan, loaf sugar, loafer, loaiasis, loam, loan, loan collection, loan council, loan office, loan shark

Origin of loam

before 900; late Middle English lome, earlier lam(e), Old English lām; cognate with Dutch leem, German Lehm loam, clay; akin to lime¹

Related forms

loam·i·ness, nounloam·less, adjectiveloam·y, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for loam

It should contain small edge millstones for grinding and mixing the loam, and another mill for grinding coal and charcoal.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines|Andrew Ure
Then when the torrents poured forth from the glaciers the loam was formed without the pebbles.
A Manual of the Antiquity of Man|J. P. MacLean
Both of these were built of loam and stones outside, at one end of the cabin.
A Tale of the Kloster|Brother Jabez
Plant the bulbs in autumn in equal parts of loam, peat, and sand.
Gardening for the Million|Alfred Pink

Beyond the reach of the Nile's overflow the sand and loam was bare of vegetation.
Khartoum Campaign, 1898|Bennet Burleigh

British Dictionary definitions for loam

loam

/ (ləʊm) /

noun

rich soil consisting of a mixture of sand, clay, and decaying organic material

a paste of clay and sand used for making moulds in a foundry, plastering walls, etc

verb

(tr) to cover, treat, or fill with loam

Derived Forms

loamy, adjectiveloaminess, noun

Word Origin for loam

Old English lām; related to Old Swedish lēmo clay, Old High German leimo

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

Science definitions for loam

loam

[ lōm ]

Soil composed of approximately equal quantities of sand, silt, and clay, often with variable amounts of decayed plant matter.