sediment

[ noun sed-uh-muhnt; verb sed-uh-ment ]

/ noun ˈsɛd ə mənt; verb ˈsɛd əˌmɛnt /

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noun

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

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

verb (used with object)

to deposit as sediment.

verb (used without object)

to form or deposit sediment.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of sediment

1540–50; <Latin sedimentum, equivalent to sedi- (combining form of sedēre to sit¹, settle) + -mentum-ment

OTHER WORDS FROM sediment

sed·i·men·tous, adjectiveself-sed·i·ment·ed, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH sediment

sand, sediment , silt

Words nearby sediment

sedge wren, Sedgwick, sedgy, sedile, sedilia, sediment, sedimentary, sedimentary rock, sedimentation, sedimentation tank, sedimentology

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use sediment in a sentence

In total, microbes in those sediments, which in some places might extend kilometers below the seafloor, collectively use a mere tenth of a percent of the power consumed in the upper 200 meters of the ocean.
‘Zombie’ Microbes Redefine Life’s Energy Limits|Jordana Cepelewicz|August 12, 2020|Quanta Magazine
An analysis of seafloor sediments dating from 13 million to nearly 102 million years ago found that nearly all of the microbes in the sediments were only dormant, not dead.
These ancient seafloor microbes woke up after over 100 million years|Carolyn Gramling|July 28, 2020|Science News
Volcanoes, metamorphic rocks and the oxidization of carbon in eroded sediments all emit carbon dioxide into the sky, while chemical reactions with silicate minerals remove carbon dioxide and bury it as limestone.
How Earth’s Climate Changes Naturally (and Why Things Are Different Now)|Howard Lee|July 21, 2020|Quanta Magazine
He also put his diving experience to use, cutting into the ice of the alpine Castle Lake and then swimming to the bottom more than 100 feet below to collect sediment samples.
He Found ‘Islands of Fertility’ Beneath Antarctica’s Ice|Steve Nadis|July 20, 2020|Quanta Magazine

Thousands of brachiopod fossils at the site had been clustered in sediment once covered by the sea.
Tube-dwelling sea creatures may be oldest known parasites|Jonathan Lambert|July 13, 2020|Science News For Students
The large bottle is served slightly on its side in a wicker basket so the sediment can sink to the bottom.
Look Out! There’s a Craft-Beer Revolution Taking Over France|Jeff Campagna|December 2, 2013|DAILY BEAST
During dry periods, the prints fermented, and when the rain returned, they were preserved under layers of sediment and mud.
294 Dinosaurs Once Walked on This Wall in Bolivia|Nina Strochlic|October 24, 2013|DAILY BEAST
He works for the National Park Service on "erosion and sediment control."
Hurricane Sandy Turns Washington, D.C., Into a Ghost Town|Lauren Ashburn|October 30, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The same levees that have prevented floods have also prevented river sediment from replenishing the land naturally.
BP’s $7.8 Billion Settlement of Deepwater Horizon Spill Does Nothing for Louisiana|John M. Barry|March 7, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Fresh river water, carrying its rich load of sediment, no longer reaches and replenishes the Delta.
The Gulf's Next Disaster|Dominique Browning|June 11, 2010|DAILY BEAST
When the sediment is abundant, casts, being light structures, will be found near the top.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
When at all abundant, pus forms a white sediment resembling amorphous phosphates macroscopically.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
In gonorrhoea gonococci are sometimes found in the sediment, but more commonly in the "gonorrheal threads," or "floaters."
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
The sediment contains a few hyaline and finely granular casts and an occasional red blood-cell.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
The sediment usually contains abundant amorphous phosphates and crystals of triple phosphate and ammonium urate.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd

British Dictionary definitions for sediment

sediment

/ (ˈsɛdɪmənt) /

noun

matter that settles to the bottom of a liquid

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

Derived forms of sediment

sedimentous (ˌsɛdɪˈmɛntəs), adjective

Word Origin for sediment

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

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 sediment

sediment

[ sĕd′ə-mənt ]

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.

Chemistry

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

sediment

Origin of sediment

OTHER WORDS FROM sediment

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH sediment

Words nearby sediment

Words related to sediment

How to use sediment in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for sediment

Derived forms of sediment

Word Origin for sediment

Scientific definitions for sediment