sludge

[sluhj]

noun

1. mud, mire, or ooze; slush.

2. a deposit of ooze at the bottom of a body of water.

3. any of various more or less mudlike deposits or mixtures.

4. the sediment in a steam boiler or water tank.

5. broken ice, as on the sea.

6. a mixture of some finely powdered substance and water.

7. sediment deposited during the treatment of sewage.

8. Also called activated sludge. Bacteriology.,  sewage sediment that contains a heavy growth of microorganisms, resulting from vigorous aeration.

9. a fine, mudlike powder produced by a mining drill.

sludge

/ slʌdʒ /

noun

1. soft mud, snow, etc

2. any deposit or sediment

3. a surface layer of ice that has a slushy appearance

4. (in sewage disposal) the solid constituents of sewage that precipitate during treatment and are removed for subsequent purification

Other Word Forms

• de-sludge verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of sludge¹

First recorded in 1640–50; variant of dialectal slutch, slitch, Middle English slich “slime, wet mud” (compare its derivative slucched “muddy”); apparently of expressive origin

Word History and Origins

Origin of sludge¹

C17: probably related to _slush

Example Sentences

Residents at the time described seeing slurry carrying "trees and big boulders", and buildings left deep in sludge and mud.

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Splotches of mysterious sludge stick to the stone floor.

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The sludge swept through communities, destroying hundreds of people's homes and poisoning the river.

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According to the victims' lawyers, BHP was aware that toxic sludge was accumulating at at the facility in Minas Gerais state north of Rio de Janeiro at rates that far exceeded the annual limit.

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The tsunami coming ashore mixed with soil, sewage, oil, and rubble to form a fast-moving black sludge.

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Related Words

• goo 
• grease 
• gunk 
• muck 
• sediment 
• silt 
• slime