sediment

[ noun sed-uh-muhnt; verb 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

/ sĕd′ə-mənt /

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.

Derived Forms

• sedimentous, adjective

Other Words From

• sedi·mentous adjective
• self-sedi·mented 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

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.

From 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.

From 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.

From 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.

From Quanta Magazine

Thousands of brachiopod fossils at the site had been clustered in sediment once covered by the sea.

From 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.

From The Daily Beast

During dry periods, the prints fermented, and when the rain returned, they were preserved under layers of sediment and mud.

From The Daily Beast

He works for the National Park Service on "erosion and sediment control."

From The Daily Beast

The same levees that have prevented floods have also prevented river sediment from replenishing the land naturally.

From The Daily Beast

Fresh river water, carrying its rich load of sediment, no longer reaches and replenishes the Delta.

From The Daily Beast

When the sediment is abundant, casts, being light structures, will be found near the top.

From Project Gutenberg

When at all abundant, pus forms a white sediment resembling amorphous phosphates macroscopically.

From Project Gutenberg

In gonorrhoea gonococci are sometimes found in the sediment, but more commonly in the "gonorrheal threads," or "floaters."

From Project Gutenberg

The sediment contains a few hyaline and finely granular casts and an occasional red blood-cell.

From Project Gutenberg

The sediment usually contains abundant amorphous phosphates and crystals of triple phosphate and ammonium urate.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• debris
• powder
• silt
• trash
• waste