talus
1 Americannoun
noun
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a slope.
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Geology. a sloping mass of rocky fragments at the base of a cliff.
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Fortification. the slope of the face of a work.
noun
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geology another name for scree
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fortifications the sloping side of a wall
noun
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Rock fragments that have accumulated at the base of a cliff or slope.
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◆ The concave slope formed by such an accumulation of rock fragments is called a talus slope.
Etymology
Origin of talus1
First recorded in 1685–95, talus is from the Latin word tālus ankle, anklebone, die. See tassel
Origin of talus2
1635–45; < French: pseudo-learned alteration of Old French talu slope < Latin talūtium gold-bearing slope or talus ( Vulgar Latin: slope), perhaps of Iberian origin
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Surgeons removed her talus bone, which forms part of the ankle joint, after she developed an infection that prevented doctors from using metal implants.
From BBC • May 20, 2026
Woods disclosed the surgery on Twitter and said it was a subtalar fusion procedure to address post-traumatic arthritis from when he broke his talus bone in February 2021.
From Washington Times • Apr. 19, 2023
The first four days featured very limited access points and the entire route required the “North Cascades’ finest bushwhacking,” glacier travel, snowfields, scree, boulder and talus fields, and scrambling.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 1, 2022
A little past the halfway mark, the trail leaves the forest and climbs a talus slope, offering views of Whitehorse Mountain and Three Fingers.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 31, 2022
He tackled cliffs that more than once left him dangling halfway be-tween talus and rim....
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
