: a heap of stones piled up as a memorial or as a landmark
Examples of cairn in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Last year alone, vandals sprayed red paint on trees, rocks and cairns at Acadia National Park; smashed windows and kicked in doors at Mammoth Cave National Park; and damaged the historic church at San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.
—
Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Apr. 2024
Narrow passages lead into these cairns, which hold several tombs.
—Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 27 Mar. 2024
According to the park service, cairns are most commonly used to designate hiking routes.
—Alexandra E. Petri, Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2023
There are many kinds of historical stone features – waste piles, cairns, scatters, lines, kilns, gravestones, cobbles, patios and more.
—Robert M. Thorson, Discover Magazine, 9 Dec. 2023
It was replaced with the current cement cairn in 1926.
—Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 6 Nov. 2023
Typically cairns should be assembled only by rangers and trail workers, according to the park service.
—Alexandra E. Petri, Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2023
Above 13,000 feet, the trail disappears, turning the final push into a steep, tortuous slog up loose scree guided only by cairns — stone towers left by previous climbers to mark the way.
—Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2023
Previously, researchers had found piles of loose rock, known as cairns, on the southwestern part of Jomfruland.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Oct. 2023
Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Apr. 2024
Narrow passages lead into these cairns, which hold several tombs.
—Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 27 Mar. 2024
According to the park service, cairns are most commonly used to designate hiking routes.
—Alexandra E. Petri, Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2023
There are many kinds of historical stone features – waste piles, cairns, scatters, lines, kilns, gravestones, cobbles, patios and more.
—Robert M. Thorson, Discover Magazine, 9 Dec. 2023
It was replaced with the current cement cairn in 1926.
—Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 6 Nov. 2023
Typically cairns should be assembled only by rangers and trail workers, according to the park service.
—Alexandra E. Petri, Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2023
Above 13,000 feet, the trail disappears, turning the final push into a steep, tortuous slog up loose scree guided only by cairns — stone towers left by previous climbers to mark the way.
—Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2023
Previously, researchers had found piles of loose rock, known as cairns, on the southwestern part of Jomfruland.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Oct. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cairn.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to cairn
Dictionary Entries Near cairn
Cite this Entry
“Cairn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cairn. Accessed 2 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cairn
noun
ˈka(ə)rn 
ˈke(ə)rn
: a heap of stones piled up as a landmark or as a memorial
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share