definitions

quicksand

[ kwik-sand ]
/ ˈkwɪkˌsænd /
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SEE MORE 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.

RELATED WORDS

quagmire, peril, risk, danger, snag, difficulty, drawback, morass, bait, ploy, ambush, device, net, ruse, pitfall, goo, swamp, fen, dirt, slime

Nearby words

quicker than you can say jack robinson, quickhatch, quickie, quicklime, quickly, quicksand, quickset, quicksilver, quickstep, quickthorn, quickwater

Origin of quicksand

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

Related forms

quick·sand·y, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for quicksand

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

Science 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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.