outwash

[ out-wosh, -wawsh ]

/ ˈaʊtˌwɒʃ, -ˌwɔʃ /

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noun Geology.

the material, chiefly sand or gravel, deposited by meltwater streams in front of a glacier.

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Origin of outwash

First recorded in 1890–95; out- + wash

Words nearby outwash

outwalk, outward, outward-bound, outwardly, outwards, outwash, outwash plain, outwatch, outwear, outweigh, outwent

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use outwash in a sentence

Outwash plains are sometimes pitted by bowl-shaped basins where ice blocks were left buried in the sand by the retreating glacier.
The Elements of Geology|William Harmon Norton
This outwash plain was a veritable paradise of bloom in the days before the advent of the plow.
Baraboo, Dells, and Devil's Lake Region|H. E. Cole
Thus arose the type of stratified drift variously known as overwash plains, outwash plains, morainic plains, and morainic aprons.
The Geography of the Region about Devils Lake and the Dalles of the Wisconsin|Rollin D. Salisbury
Good examples of overwash or outwash plains may be seen at various points in the vicinity of Baraboo.
The Geography of the Region about Devils Lake and the Dalles of the Wisconsin|Rollin D. Salisbury

A good example of an outwash plain occurs southwest of Baraboo, flanking the moraine on the west (Fig. 41).
The Geography of the Region about Devils Lake and the Dalles of the Wisconsin|Rollin D. Salisbury

British Dictionary definitions for outwash

outwash

/ (ˈaʊtˌwɒʃ) /

noun

a mass of gravel, sand, etc, carried and deposited by the water derived from melting glaciers

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