quicksand
Americannoun
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quicksands
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of quicksand
First recorded in 1275–1325, quicksand is from the Middle English word qwykkesand. See quick, sand
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.
See Examples For:
"It's like quicksand," he shouted in surprise to his family watching from a distance.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
That early access gave Xi a front-row seat to the raw mechanics of military power—and taught him that the commander who doesn’t fully control the generals is a leader standing on quicksand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
For the next eight years, as if submerging into quicksand, I sank deeper into debt.
From Salon ● May 11, 2025
Newcastle could, and should, have added more as they simply over-powered a Liverpool team who looked like they were running in quicksand, this loss compounding the midweek Champions League exit against PSG on penalties.
From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2025
For Jeanne has started out over the quicksand.
From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz
The words of that movement — “Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood” — still echo.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 20, 2022
A family spokesman said: "He pioneered fundraising cross-bay walks and was responsible for leading 6,000 charity walkers a year, avoiding the treacherous quicksands and dangerous areas."
From BBC ● Nov. 20, 2021
Who, seriously, would be taken aback now if Villa, confidence shot to pieces, could not clamber out of the Premier League's quicksands?
From The Guardian ● Jan. 26, 2013
Next up for the Dukes is a play about the perilous quicksands of Morecambe bay.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 4, 2010
Paine therefore set about constructing his iron bridge of thirteen symbolic ribs, to overleap the ice-floods and quicksands of rivers.
From The Life Of Thomas Paine, Vol. II. (of II) With A History of His Literary, Political and Religious Career in America France, and England by Moncure Daniel Conway
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.
