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mudflow

American  
[muhd-floh] / ˈmʌdˌfloʊ /

noun

Geology.
  1. a flow of mixed earth debris containing a large amount of water.

  2. the dried-out product of such a flow.


mudflow British  
/ ˈmʌdˌfləʊ /

noun

  1. geology a flow of soil or fine-grained sediment mixed with water down a steep unstable slope

"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

mudflow Scientific  
/ mŭdflō′ /
  1. A downhill movement of soft, wet, unconsolidated earth and debris, made fluid by rain or melted snow and often building up great speed.


Etymology

Origin of mudflow

First recorded in 1900–05; mud + flow

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.

See Examples For:

On neighbouring Negros Island, where at least 30 people were killed, Kalmaegi's driving rain loosened volcanic mudflow that buried homes in Canlaon City, police Lieutenant Stephen Polinar told AFP on Wednesday.

From Barron's Nov. 6, 2025

In the end, about 500 people showed up to the inaugural Plateau Pride, named after the land surrounding the area formed thousands of years ago by volcanic mudflow from Mount Rainier.

From Seattle Times Jun. 9, 2023

She had been a wardrobe stylist, but retired after the 2018 mudflow, when she lost her house and suffered a punctured lung, shattered bones and a brain injury.

From New York Times Jan. 17, 2023

The woman’s last known location was in a building in the Forest Falls area that was directly affected by the mudflow, said Mike McClintock, battalion chief with the San Bernardino County Fire Department.

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 14, 2022

But high on “a dry and barren mudflow, 5,000 feet up on the slopes of Mount St. Helens,” del Moral remembered, it was more like a miracle.

From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone

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