mudslide
Britishnoun
Explanation
When dirt, rocks, and water flow down the side of a mountain, it's called a mudslide. Heavy rain and melting snow can both cause mudslides. Another name for a mudslide is a debris flow. It's a fast-moving type of landslide that's made at least partly of mud, which gives the phenomenon its name. Mudslides often happen after natural disasters (like earthquakes), and hillsides that have been burned by wildfires or developed by people are more vulnerable. The effects of mudslides include impassable roads, broken pipes and cables that cause water and power outages, and even homes buried under mud.
Vocabulary lists containing mudslide
Earth Science - Middle School
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Earth Science - High School
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Earth Science - Introductory
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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.
Scientists believe the disaster was caused by part of a glacier and bedrock breaking free, falling thousands of feet and creating a massive mudslide.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
The disaster was intially described as a flood on the Nepalese side, and a mudslide by Chinese authorities.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
Dozens of Americans and Canadians are among hundreds of people who are missing following a deadly flash flood and mudslide near the Nepal-Tibet border, Nepali authorities say.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Researchers believe both died at the same time, possibly during a flash flood or mudslide.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 30, 2026
She read through it and explained the disaster to my father and then they fought, a mudslide of an argument that spewed across the antiseptic sheets and out into the hall.
From "Wintergirls" by Laurie Halse Anderson
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.
