quicksand

[ kwik-sand ]

/ ˈkwɪkˌsænd /

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See synonyms for quicksand on Thesaurus.com

noun

a bed of soft or loose sand saturated with water and having considerable depth, yielding under weight and therefore tending to suck down any object resting on its surface.

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Origin of quicksand

First recorded in 1275–1325, quicksand is from the Middle English word qwykkesand.See quick, sand

OTHER WORDS FROM quicksand

quicksandy, adjective

Words nearby quicksand

quick march, quick off the mark, quick on the draw, quick on the uptake, quick response, quicksand, quickset, quick-setting, quicksilver, quickstep, Quick's test

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use quicksand in a sentence

Then when we were finally able to come back, it was like we were moving in quicksand.
Back in action at last, Georgetown holds off Providence to snap its five-game skid|Kareem Copeland|January 30, 2021|Washington Post
They fought their way out of it, dug their way out of that quicksand.
Back in action at last, Georgetown holds off Providence to snap its five-game skid|Kareem Copeland|January 30, 2021|Washington Post
To Herron it has felt like “a marathon that I ran in quicksand, getting nowhere quickly.”
Caught Between Military and Civilian Justice, a Battered Wife Waits and Waits for Help|Jacob Siegel|April 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The 1905 guide An Elementary Class-Book of Practical Coal-Mining touts its effectiveness in digging mine shafts through quicksand.
Fukushima N-Plant Will Be Surrounded by a Wall of Ice|Josh Dzieza|September 4, 2013|DAILY BEAST

That next morning felt slow and strange, like wading through quicksand.
Handcuffs, Ropes, and an Open Window: How I Escaped an Unthinkable Childhood|Genyfer Spark|January 29, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The McKesson proxy statement is 100-plus pages of quicksand.
He’s One of the Nation’s Highest-Paid CEOs—and You’ve Never Heard of Him|Gary Rivlin|January 2, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Five minutes later, he is up to his thighs in liquid that is quicksand thick.
An Old-Fashioned Wine Harvest|Sophie Menin|October 18, 2010|DAILY BEAST
In ground which is of the nature of quicksand, piles will often slowly rise to their original position after each blow.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3|Various
And now at last we can step again from the treacherous quicksand of reminiscences on the terra firma of documents.
Frederick Chopin as a Man and Musician|Frederick Niecks
On the west side timbers and wool sacks were sunk into a quicksand upon which to rest the foundations of the abutment.
The Old Pike|Thomas B. Searight
And I beheld her walk straight into the borders of the quicksand where it is more abrupt and dangerous.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 4 (of 25)|Robert Louis Stevenson
The boy's mount had mired one foot in a quicksand pocket and had gone down on its knees.
The Pony Rider Boys in Texas|Frank Gee Patchin

British Dictionary definitions for quicksand

quicksand

/ (ˈkwɪkˌsænd) /

noun

a deep mass of loose wet sand that submerges anything on top of it

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

Scientific definitions for quicksand

quicksand

[ kwĭk′sănd′ ]

A deep bed of loose, smoothly rounded sand grains, saturated with water and forming a soft, shifting mass that yields easily to pressure and tends to engulf objects resting on its surface. Although it is possible for a person to drown while mired in quicksand, the human body is less dense than any quicksand and is thus not drawn or sucked beneath the surface as is sometimes popularly believed.

quicksand

Origin of quicksand

OTHER WORDS FROM quicksand

Words nearby quicksand

Words related to quicksand

How to use quicksand in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for quicksand

Scientific definitions for quicksand