sed·i·ment
ˈse-də-mənt 
1
: the matter that settles to the bottom of a liquid
2
: material deposited by water, wind, or glaciers
Synonyms
Examples of sediment in a Sentence
Noun
There was a layer of sediment in the bottom of the tank.
the sediment at the bottom of the river needs to be routinely dredged so that it doesn't interfere with barge traffic
Verb
the water flowing into the reservoir is sedimenting silt faster than was originally expected
Recent Examples on the Web
Kansas City Star, 10 Apr. 2024
At the moment, visible cracks in the asphalt can be seen where the road has fallen into disrepair due to shifting sediment.
—Jireh Deng, Los Angeles Times, 22 Mar. 2024
The vessel, which was partially buried underneath the sediment, measures about 100 feet long and about 25 feet wide, researchers said.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 26 Feb. 2024
This land was stripped of its dense vegetation by miners scouring the subsoil for tiny specks of gold, using mercury to separate the gold from the sediment.
—Simeon Tegel, NPR, 2 Apr. 2024
The cable is sometimes buried in seabed sediments in shallow waters for protection against fishing activities, anchors and natural events.
—Robin Chataut, The Conversation, 1 Apr. 2024
Next was the water’s opacity: The thick sediment blinded Rambelli and Felipe, researchers at the Federal University of Sergipe, just feet beneath the surface.
—Rafael Vilela, Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2024
Authorities said Medina was in scuba gear and a wet suit, cleaning sediment inside the tank with a 90-foot suction tube for about 45 minutes.
—Brian Brant, Peoplemag, 28 Mar. 2024
The Klamath River runs free through the former Iron Gate Reservoir, cutting through layers of sediment to find its course.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2024
Kansas City Star, 10 Apr. 2024
The team observed the octopuses launch objects and sediment several body lengths away.
—Corryn Wetzel, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Sep. 2021
The cores, presented here today at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America, were captured at the farthest extent of the ash’s reach, recorded as wisps of tephra in finely sedimented, ancient mud uplifted near the ocean floor.
—Paul Voosen, Science | AAAS, 25 Oct. 2017
Noun
Host rocks to the mineralization are primarily the clastic sediments of the lowest portion of the Cretaceous Bisbee Formation.
—Kansas City Star, 10 Apr. 2024
At the moment, visible cracks in the asphalt can be seen where the road has fallen into disrepair due to shifting sediment.
—Jireh Deng, Los Angeles Times, 22 Mar. 2024
The vessel, which was partially buried underneath the sediment, measures about 100 feet long and about 25 feet wide, researchers said.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 26 Feb. 2024
This land was stripped of its dense vegetation by miners scouring the subsoil for tiny specks of gold, using mercury to separate the gold from the sediment.
—Simeon Tegel, NPR, 2 Apr. 2024
The cable is sometimes buried in seabed sediments in shallow waters for protection against fishing activities, anchors and natural events.
—Robin Chataut, The Conversation, 1 Apr. 2024
Next was the water’s opacity: The thick sediment blinded Rambelli and Felipe, researchers at the Federal University of Sergipe, just feet beneath the surface.
—Rafael Vilela, Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2024
Authorities said Medina was in scuba gear and a wet suit, cleaning sediment inside the tank with a 90-foot suction tube for about 45 minutes.
—Brian Brant, Peoplemag, 28 Mar. 2024
The Klamath River runs free through the former Iron Gate Reservoir, cutting through layers of sediment to find its course.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2024
Verb
The exploration data collected to-date indicates that previous historical open pit heap leaching operations did not advance their plans to develop attractive, wide, shallow gold-silver mineralization hosted in major structural zones in the Bisbee Group sediments west of the Contention Pit.
—Kansas City Star, 10 Apr. 2024
The team observed the octopuses launch objects and sediment several body lengths away.
—Corryn Wetzel, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Sep. 2021
The cores, presented here today at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America, were captured at the farthest extent of the ash’s reach, recorded as wisps of tephra in finely sedimented, ancient mud uplifted near the ocean floor.
—Paul Voosen, Science | AAAS, 25 Oct. 2017
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sediment.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near sediment
Cite this Entry
“Sediment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sediment. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
sediment
1 of 2 noun
sed·i·ment
ˈsed-ə-mənt
: the matter that settles to the bottom of a liquid
sediment
2 of 2 transitive verb
sed·i·ment
-ˌment
: to deposit as sediment
the synaptosomes were sedimented by centrifugation
1
: to settle to the bottom in a liquid
let the red blood cells sediment for 30 minutes
2
: to deposit sediment
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