sand
noun
the more or less fine debris of rocks, consisting of small, loose grains, often of quartz.
sand
1 American
[sand]
/ sænd /
noun
-
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.
verb (used with object)
-
sands,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sanded,
past participle, past
-
sanding
present participle
-
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
Sand
2
American
[sand, sahn d]
/ sænd, sɑ̃d /
noun
sand.
3
American
abbreviation
sand
1
British
/ sænd /
noun
-
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
-
informal courage; grit
-
to put a stop to or a limit on
-
there is not much time left before death or the end
verb
-
(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
Sand
2
British
/ sɑ̃d /
noun
sand
Scientific
/ sănd /
sand
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
sandsimple
-
sandssimple
-
have sandedperfect
-
has sandedperfect
-
am sandingprogressive
-
are sandingprogressive
-
is sandingprogressive
-
have been sandingperfect progressive
-
has been sandingperfect progressive
Past
-
sandedsimple
-
had sandedperfect
-
was sandingprogressive
-
were sandingprogressive
-
had been sandingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sand
before 900; Middle English (noun), Old English; cognate with German Sand, Old Norse sandr
Explanation
Sand is a substance that's made of tiny pieces of rock. The sand on some beaches is rough and pebbly, while other sand is smooth and soft. Either way, don't track it into the house. You can find sand on riverbanks, in flower beds, and in sandboxes, among many other places. Grains of sand are composed of rocks and coral that have been worn down over the years. As a verb, sand means "make smooth with sandpaper." There's also an old fashioned colloquial way to use this word, to mean "determination" or "grit." So you could say, "I'm impressed that she had the sand to travel in India by herself!"
Vocabulary lists containing sand
Brown
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Earth Science - Middle School
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Earth Science - High School
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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:
The track hoe operator repeatedly spun the machine to the west, dug into a mound of sand, spun 180 degrees and dropped the sand.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026
It takes an hour for the sand to run through it—the maximum amount of time she now lets herself work, or even think about work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026
Moises Villasenor, 72, said he was "a little worried" as he filled sand bags to protect his small hotel, situated about three blocks from the seafront.
From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2026
The jet-pump intake can become clogged with grass, trash and sand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
“I have sand stuck between my toes. And my hair is gross.”
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Sand berms that had been built ahead of the storm were completely washed away.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
Warwick Road was closed on Monday from the Marraway roundabout to its junction with Ingon Lane and Sand Barn Lane, with the stretch remaining shut on Tuesday morning.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
The breakthrough came through archival observations from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope presented by study coauthors David Sand and Catherine Fielder, both astronomers at the University of Arizona.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026
In many ways, “Becoming George” serves as a thoroughgoing and persuasive amendment to the incomplete legacy that has tailed Sand for so long.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Sand clung to his skin, and as he dried little black sand ants began to crawl over him.
From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya
“Parents get to relax while their children dig around in the sand. White-collar and blue-collar workers alike get a respite from their jobs.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
“Unlike politicians of the past, I refuse to bury my head in the sand. I refuse to ignore the problems we face,” Hobbs said Monday in her state of the state address.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2026
“I don’t have friends anymore. Our whole life has turned to sand. When I go out to the prayer area, I feel anxious, and hesitant. I don’t feel right.”
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2024
“I am sleeping on the sand. It’s freezing,” said Soad Qarmoot, who described herself as a cancer patient forced to leave her home in the northern town of Beit Lahiya.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 9, 2023
“No reef to cross. Nice level sand. Darn fine landing place. Just where the enemy expects us.”
From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac
As a large turtle lumbered across the island's sands on Wednesday, tourism operator Famau said his sector supports 90 percent of the island.
From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026
Unlike the scrolls from Herculaneum, those documents survived because they were buried in Egypt's dry sands.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026
After all, the sands of our emotional and financial landscapes keep shifting, not always in sync.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026
Canada’s growth in May was for a second straight month led by oil and gas extraction, with increased activity in Alberta’s oil sands industry and in support activities for the energy sector.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
At night, when it was calm, you could see the stars reflected on the wet sands.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
That appeal could strengthen if Texas embeds tax restrictions in its constitution and guarantees that corporate investments won’t be sanded down by policy changes years later.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2025
Its throwing arm, currently at 12 o’clock, weighs 360 pounds and is not hewn or sanded; knots are visible in the wood.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2025
Over the following months the wood is cut, settled, rounded, spliced, planed, fitted with a brass tip and leather pad, sanded in nine different ways, oiled, and finally waxed, before being complete.
From BBC ● May 2, 2025
After the stain dried, they sanded the chair again to smooth out any raised grain.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 3, 2024
The floor and walls were smooth, sanded down to resemble an actual hallway inside a building.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
It has made nine recommendations, including improving the safety inside passenger carriages, improving the design and safety of sanding systems, improving wheel-rail adhesion conditions and driver training.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
The pad of my left foot felt as if I’d stepped on a sanding belt.
From Slate ● Jun. 5, 2026
That might mean, for instance, sanding, patching and repainting interior doors instead of buying new ones.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 10, 2025
Made with real Muscat grape juice, these gummies feature a jelly-like center and are coated in a decent amount of sour sanding.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2025
Then I get busy sanding off the chipped paint on the door—cha-cha-cha-cha—trying to smooth it down.
From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina
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.
