scree

[skree]

See more synonyms for scree on Thesaurus.com

noun

a steep mass of detritus on the side of a mountain.

Origin of scree

First recorded in 1775–85, scree is from the Old Norse word skritha landslide

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for scree

debris, rubble, fill, scree, leavings, deposit, sediment, brash

Examples from the Web for scree

Historical Examples of scree

Then we buried it deep under the big pile of scree on my hill.
Shapes that Haunt the Dusk
Various
It may, however, be recognised by its liberal output of scree.
Climbing in The British Isles. Vol. 1 - England
W. P. Haskett Smith
They set off and Festing noticed Helen's confidence on the scree.
The Girl From Keller's
Harold Bindloss
What followed in that hurly-burly—that mad scramble through brake and thicket, down crag and scree—cannot be written.
Unexplored Spain
Abel Chapman
They walked down slowly, him leaning on her arm like an old man, steps faltering in the scree on the slope.
Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town
Cory Doctorow

British Dictionary definitions for scree

scree

noun

an accumulation of weathered rock fragments at the foot of a cliff or hillside, often forming a sloping heapAlso called: talus

Word Origin for scree

Old English scrīthan to slip; related to Old Norse skrītha to slide, German schreiten to walk

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

Word Origin and History for scree

"pile of debris at the base of a cliff," 1781, back-formation from screes (plural) "pebbles, small stones," from Old Norse skriða "landslide," from skriða "to creep, crawl;" of a ship, "to sail, glide," also "to slide" (on snow-shoes), from Proto-Germanic *skrithanan (cf. Old English scriþan "to go, glide," Old Saxon skridan, Dutch schrijden, Old High German scritan, German schreiten "to stride").