spindrift

[ spin-drift ]
See synonyms for spindrift on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. spray swept by a violent wind along the surface of the sea.

Origin of spindrift

1
1590–1600; variant of Scots speendriftspoondrift

Words Nearby spindrift

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use spindrift in a sentence

  • The spindrift scientists were always in demand, and their faces grew gaunt as the days passed.

    The Flaming Mountain | Harold Leland Goodwin
  • Dalgetty locked moodily out at the beach and the waves and the smoking spindrift.

    The Sensitive Man | Poul William Anderson
  • Snowdrift of the mountains, spindrift of the sea, You shall keep your kingdoms; Joscelyn for me!

    Songs from Vagabondia | Bliss Carman and Richard Hovey
  • Snowdrift of the mountains, spindrift of the sea, Let us part the treasure Of the world in three.

    Songs from Vagabondia | Bliss Carman and Richard Hovey
  • Raw shuddering gusts whipped the sea till the ship lurched and men felt driven spindrift stinging their faces.

    The Valor of Cappen Varra | Poul William Anderson

British Dictionary definitions for spindrift

spindrift

/ (ˈspɪnˌdrɪft) /


noun
  1. spray blown up from the surface of the sea

  2. powdery snow blown off a mountain

Origin of spindrift

1
C17: of Scottish origin, possibly from a variant of obsolete spoon to scud + drift
  • Nontechnical name: spoondrift

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