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Synonyms

marl

1 American  
[mahrl] / mɑrl /

verb (used with object)

Nautical.

  1. to wind (a rope) with marline, every turn being secured by a hitch.

marl 2 American  
[mahrl] / mɑrl /

noun

  1. Geology. a friable earthy deposit consisting of clay and calcium carbonate, used especially as a fertilizer for soils deficient in lime.

  2. Archaic. earth.

verb (used with object)

  1. to fertilize with marl.

marl 1 British  
/ mɑːl /

verb

  1. nautical to seize (a rope) with marline, using a hitch at each turn

"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
marl 2 British  
/ mɑːˈleɪʃəs, mɑːl /

noun

  1. a fine-grained sedimentary rock consisting of clay minerals, calcite or aragonite, and silt: used as a fertilizer

"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

verb

  1. (tr) to fertilize (land) with marl

"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
marl Scientific  
/ märl /

  1. A crumbly mixture of clays, calcium and magnesium carbonates, and remnants of shells that forms in both freshwater and marine environments.

Other Word Forms

  • marlacious adjective
  • marly adjective

Etymology

Origin of marl1

1400–50; late Middle English marlyn to ensnare; akin to Old English mārels cable. See moor 2

Origin of marl1

1325–75; Middle English marle < Middle Dutch < Old French < Medieval Latin margila, diminutive of Latin marga, said to be < Gaulish

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

So many fit the man-child: “light of brain,” “clod of wayward marl,” “bolting-hutch of beastliness,” but specifically to his inability to speak the truth there’s the perfect “infinite and endless liar, an hourly promise-breaker.”

From Salon

The marl cliffs, which attract thousands of tourists every year, were defaced sometime overnight on Friday.

From BBC

It shares the same Kimmeridgian marl soils as its glorified neighbor and produces some top-notch sauvignon blanc.

From Washington Post

The coat is available in only one color – grey marl.

From Fox News

Since 2017, crews have been abseiling down marl and limestone cliffs and using drones to map hundreds of caves and hollows.

From Reuters

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.