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loam

[ lohm ]
/ loʊm /
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See synonyms for: loam / loamy on Thesaurus.com
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.
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Origin of loam

First recorded before 900; from late Middle English lome, earlier lam(e), Old English lām; cognate with Dutch leem, German Lehm “loam, clay”; akin to lime2

OTHER WORDS FROM loam

loam·less, adjectiveloam·y, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to loam

brick, earth, mud, terra cotta, clay, dust, coast, dirt, gravel, land, sand, shore, surface, terrain, turf, field, landscape, park, soil, acreage

How to use loam in a sentence

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 of loam

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

Scientific definitions for loam

loam
[ lōm ]
Soil composed of approximately equal quantities of sand, silt, and clay, often with variable amounts of decayed plant matter.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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