flotsam

flot·sam

noun \ˈflät-səm\

Definition of FLOTSAM

1

: floating wreckage of a ship or its cargo; broadly : floating debris

2

a : a floating population (as of emigrants or castaways) <human flotsam>

b : miscellaneous or unimportant material <a notebook filled with flotsam and jetsam>

c : debris, remains <the village … built on the flotsam of war — Stan Sesser>

Examples of FLOTSAM

1. flotsam washed up on the shore
2. <the dispirited family picked through the flotsam of their possessions after the hurricane, looking for anything that could be salvaged>

Origin of FLOTSAM

Anglo-French floteson, from floter to float, of Germanic origin; akin to Old English flotian to float, flota ship

First Known Use: circa 1607

Related to FLOTSAM

Synonyms

ashes, debris, detritus, remains, residue, rubble, ruins, wreck, wreckage

Related Words

jetsam, leavings, remnant; chaff, deadwood, dross, dust, garbage, junk, litter, refuse, riffraff, rubbish, scrap, trash, waste

Other Nautical Terms

avast, aweigh, jib, keel, lee, port, starboard, stay