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.

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mudflow British  

/ ˈmʌdˌfləʊ /

noun

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

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mudflow Scientific  

/ mŭd′flō′ /

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

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Etymology

Origin of mudflow

First recorded in 1900–05; mud + flow

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mudflow

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

Devastation from the eruption covered 150 square miles with volcanic mudflow, blocks of shattered rock and volcanic debris and sediment in river channels.

From Seattle Times ● May 18, 2024

The Los Angeles County Dept. of Public Works issued a mudflow alert for homes in the burn scar of the 2020 Ranch 2 Fire.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2024

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

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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