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.
Many remember the 1999 mudslide that left thousands dead in this same area, as well as tens of thousands more left homeless in that disaster, some of whom spent years in shelters.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
Freeport-McMoRan said last month that full production would return more slowly than expected after a fatal mudslide last September.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026
"When I walked out, there was a caravan in the pool, and there's a mudslide that missed me by about 30 feet," Siluch said.
From Barron's ● Jan. 23, 2026
A mudslide closed Big Tujunga Canyon Road in Angeles National Forest between the Angeles Forest Highway and Vogel Flat Road, marking the latest county road closure due to flooding and slides since Dec. 24.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 2, 2026
“Our dessert special is our homemade double-chocolate lava mudslide with raspberry coulis.”
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
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.
