sediment

[sed-uh-muhnt, sed-uh-ment]

noun

1. the matter that settles to the bottom of a liquid; lees; dregs.

2. Geology.,  mineral or organic matter deposited by water, air, or ice.

verb (used with object)

1. to deposit as sediment.

verb (used without object)

1. to form or deposit sediment.

sediment

/ ˌsɛdɪˈmɛntəs, ˈsɛdɪmənt /

noun

1. matter that settles to the bottom of a liquid

2. material that has been deposited from water, ice, or wind

sediment

1. Geology,  Solid fragmented material, such as silt, sand, gravel, chemical precipitates, and fossil fragments, that is transported and deposited by water, ice, or wind or that accumulates through chemical precipitation or secretion by organisms, and that forms layers on the Earth's surface. Sedimentary rocks consist of consolidated sediment.

2. Particles of solid matter that settle out of a suspension to the bottom of the liquid.

Other Word Forms

• sedimentous adjective
• self-sedimented adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sediment¹

1540–50; < Latin sedimentum, equivalent to sedi- (combining form of sedēre to sit ¹, settle) + -mentum -ment

Word History and Origins

Origin of sediment¹

C16: from Latin sedimentum a settling, from sedēre to sit

Example Sentences

They dove thirty feet and then removed another three feet of sediment before uncovering one of the Hunley’s two small conning towers.

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For many years, scientists have known that fine particles from space steadily fall to Earth and accumulate in ocean sediments.

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Imprinted in sediments or sedimentary rock, they record a specific moment of activity and confirm the exact location where an individual stood or moved.

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For years, geologists assumed these enriched elements came from ocean sediments pulled into the mantle when tectonic plates sink, or from columns of rising hot rock known as mantle plumes.

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Sulfur and iron are particularly essential for microbial communities that live in oxygen-deprived habitats such as ocean floors, wetlands, and sediments.

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Related Words

• debris 
• powder 
• silt 
• trash 
• waste