slurry

[ slur-ee ]

/ ˈslɜr i /

Save This Word!

noun, plural slur·ries.

a thin mixture of an insoluble substance, as cement, clay, or coal, with a liquid, as water or oil.

Ceramics. a thin slip.

verb (used with object), slur·ried, slur·ry·ing.

to prepare a suspension of (a solid in a liquid).

adjective

of or relating to such a suspension.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

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

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

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of slurry

1400–50; late Middle English slory; perhaps akin to slur

Words nearby slurry

slung shot, slunk, slur, slurb, slurp, slurry, slurve, slush, slush fund, slush pile, slushy

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

How to use slurry in a sentence

He gestured at a polishing machine behind us, where glass pieces slowly revolved on top a slurry of wet polishing mix.
Inside the machine that saved Moore’s Law|Clive Thompson|October 27, 2021|MIT Technology Review
Once flushed, that stool flows through pipes, interweaving with the plumbing of other toilets, rooms, buildings and even neighborhoods, providing a slurry that can be sampled.
How different COVID-19 testing plans can help keep kids safe in school|Jonathan Lambert|August 13, 2021|Science News
There’s a claim all over the Internet that you can make a “moss smoothie” by blending yogurt or buttermilk and spreading the slurry over rocks.
Why and how to grow your own moss garden|John Kennedy|July 20, 2021|Popular-Science
To use, bring the sauce to a boil for maximum thickening power, slowly add the slurry while stirring, and cook for only a minute or two as prolonged heat can cause the starch to break down and thin out the sauce again.
Sauce, gravy or stew too thin? We’ve got 3 ways to fix that.|Aaron Hutcherson|February 12, 2021|Washington Post

The nuggets will be created by first putting down a layer of extruded plant protein engineered to produce a more realistic meat-like texture instead of a kind of slurry.
Your first lab-grown burger is coming soon—and it’ll be “blended”|Katie McLean|December 18, 2020|MIT Technology Review
Indeed, there are whole generations who only know him in his slurry buccaneer phase from Pirates of the Caribbean.
Exile on Sesame Street: Keith Richards Writes a Kids’ Book|Malcolm Jones|September 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Volcanoes spewed lava and ash, ocean floors were thrust upward, sand and rock and shale settled into slurry.
Napa’s Earthquake Is Not The Only Thing Shaking The Vineyards|Clive Irving|August 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Slurry, slur′i, n. any one of several semi-fluid mixtures, esp.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements)|Various
These streams fill the channel with a slurry of mud and commonly transport considerable quantities of sediment for a day or two.
Deserts|A. S. Walker
Fresh slurry is run on to the drying floors, and the kiln is started.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 6|Various
At the upper end the raw material is fed in either as a dry powder or as a slurry; at the lower end is a powerful burner.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 6|Various

British Dictionary definitions for slurry

slurry

/ (ˈslʌrɪ) /

noun plural -ries

a suspension of solid particles in a liquid, as in a mixture of cement, clay, coal dust, manure, meat, etc with water

Word Origin for slurry

C15 slory; see slur

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