sand
the more or less fine debris of rocks, consisting of small, loose grains, often of quartz.
Usually sands. a tract or region composed principally of sand.
the sand or a grain of sand in an hourglass.
sands, moments of time or of one's life: At this stage of his career the sands are running out.
a light reddish- or brownish-yellow color.
Informal. courage; pluck.
to smooth or polish with sand, sandpaper, or some other abrasive: to sand the ends of a board.
to sprinkle with or as if with sand: to sand an icy road.
to fill up with sand, as a harbor.
to add sand to: The mischievous child sanded the sugar.
Idioms about sand
draw a line in the sand, to set a limit; allow to go up to a point but no further.
Origin of sand
1Other words from sand
- sand·a·ble, adjective
- sandless, adjective
- sandlike, adjective
- un·sand·ed, adjective
- well-sanded, adjective
Words that may be confused with sand
Words Nearby sand
Other definitions for Sand (2 of 3)
George [jawrj; French zhawrzh] /dʒɔrdʒ; French ʒɔrʒ/ Lucile Aurore Dupin Dudevant, 1804–76, French novelist.
Other definitions for sand. (3 of 3)
sandwich.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use sand in a sentence
Strong tidal currents there have since dumped several square miles worth of sand into the bay behind Fire Island, creating wide, shallow flats perfect for trying out the new platform.
This motorized kayak can drive itself | By Nate Matthews/Outdoor Life | August 28, 2020 | Popular-ScienceOthers are insisting the oil sands will remain the economic heart of the region for decades to come.
The coating allows moisture to stick and absorb to the sand.
A Norwegian Startup Is Turning Dry Deserts Into Fertile Cropland | Vanessa Bates Ramirez | August 19, 2020 | Singularity HubSo we cross-registered in the animation department at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design twice in our sophomore year, learning things like hand drawing with a light table, experimental sand animation, and digital animation.
Throw a grain of sand in the machinery and we have an outage like yesterday.
Google Search bug caused by issue with its ‘indexing systems’ | Barry Schwartz | August 11, 2020 | Search Engine Land
There is only sand, a white ball, and a flag indicating the hole.
Lost For Thousands of Strokes: 'Desert Golfing' Is 'Angry Birds' as Modern Art | Alec Kubas-Meyer | January 2, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTWhen the game starts, there is only sand, a white ball, a flag indicating hole 1, and a “0” at the top of the screen.
Lost For Thousands of Strokes: 'Desert Golfing' Is 'Angry Birds' as Modern Art | Alec Kubas-Meyer | January 2, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTAnd there, the sand castle builder and tag player who loved her aunt more than science would be buried.
11 Children Shot in Milwaukee, One in Her Grandpa's Lap | Michael Daly | November 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTMr. Wynd said the shrinking process includes filling the head with hot sand and boiling it with herbs.
Dodo Bones and Kylie’s Poo: Inside London’s Strangest New Museum | Liza Foreman | November 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe family had grown up dirt-poor, sharecropping the 20,000 acres of cotton that stretched out below sand Mountain.
Broken crocks should be strewn upon the tray, and on to this is heaped peaty soil mixed with sand.
How to Know the Ferns | S. Leonard BastinYou speak with about as little reflection as we might expect from one of those children down there playing in the sand.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate ChopinEdna looked at her feet, and noticed the sand and slime between her brown toes.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate ChopinThe little faces shone like polished bronze; they held their hands out, their bare feet pattered in the sand.
The Wave | Algernon BlackwoodThough built upon the sand, they still endured, and would continue to endure.
The Wave | Algernon Blackwood
British Dictionary definitions for sand (1 of 2)
/ (sænd) /
loose material consisting of rock or mineral grains, esp rounded grains of quartz, between 0.05 and 2 mm in diameter
(often plural) a sandy area, esp on the seashore or in a desert
a greyish-yellow colour
(as adjective): sand upholstery
the grains of sandlike material in an hourglass
US informal courage; grit
draw a line in the sand to put a stop to or a limit on
the sands are running out there is not much time left before death or the end
(tr) to smooth or polish the surface of with sandpaper or sand: to sand a floor
(tr) to sprinkle or cover with or as if with sand; add sand to
to fill or cause to fill with sand: the channel sanded up
Origin of sand
1Derived forms of sand
- sandlike, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for Sand (2 of 2)
/ (French sɑ̃d) /
George (ʒɔrʒ), pen name of Amandine Aurore Lucie Dupin. 1804–76, French novelist, best known for such pastoral novels as La Mare au diable (1846) and François le Champi (1847–48) and for her works for women's rights to independence
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 sand
[ sănd ]
A sedimentary material consisting of small, often rounded grains or particles of disintegrated rock, smaller than granules and larger than silt. The diameter of the particles ranges from 0.0625 to 2 mm. Although sand often consists of quartz, it can consist of any other mineral or rock fragment as well. Coral sand, for example, consists of limestone fragments.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with sand
see build on sand; hide one's head in the sand.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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