detritus

noun

di-ˈtrī-təs How to pronounce detritus (audio)
Definition of detritusnext
as in debris
the portion or bits of something left over or behind after it has been destroyed the expanse of tree stumps represented the detritus of a vast forest that had been mercilessly clear-cut

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of detritus The past is not so much foreign as free, free to anyone who is willing to do the work, to enter the past with a spirit of curiosity and a willingness to conjure a living world out of the detritus that history leaves behind. — Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2026 Still, even with Ellison’s $111 billion WBD takeover plan under threat from a state attorneys general antitrust suit, $4 million and change is sofa detritus to the son of Larry Ellison. — Dominic Patten, Deadline, 21 Aug. 2026 This is where the Sora 70's surface-cleaning functionality came in handy, filling the filter basket with every floating bit of detritus and leaving the pool looking as if there had been no storm at all. — John Mihaly, PC Magazine, 17 Aug. 2026 The dirty sea near the city often carried this kind of detritus to the shore. — Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for detritus
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detritus
  1. debris
  2. rubble
  3. wreckage
  4. ruins
Noun
  • The crash, which occurred in a flat stretch surrounded by olive fields in between the towns of Urda and Los Yébenes, left carriages shredded into bits of metal and other material, scattering debris down a gravel slope.
    — JOSEPH WILSON, Arkansas Online, 29 Oct. 2026
  • This clarifying toner exfoliates skin to gently remove debris and dead skin cells, while rosemary, aloe, and chamomile extract soften and soothe.
    — Lauren Valenti, Vogue, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of debris
Noun
  • Greg Hernandez separates materials from a pile of rubble during the teardown of the Cabrini-Green projects at 1157 and 1159 Cleveland Ave.
    — Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Rescue operations are underway as there are reports that people may be trapped under the rubble.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of rubble
Noun
  • Rescue workers searched the wreckage through the day for survivors and bodies.
    — JOSEPH WILSON, Arkansas Online, 29 Oct. 2026
  • Second fatal train crash this year The wreckage of Wednesday’s crash reminded many of the aftermath of another train collision in January, when 46 people died in southern Spain when an IRYO train jumped the track and hit an oncoming RENFE train.
    — Joseph Wilson, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of wreckage
Noun
  • The board heard two days of testimony from Weisheit, lawyers, the children’s parents and first responders who were at an Evansville home in 2010 when the bodies of 8-year-old Alyssa Lynch and 5-year-old Caleb Lynch were recovered in the fire ruins.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 28 Oct. 2026
  • The board heard two days of testimony from Weisheit, lawyers, the children's parents and first responders who were at an Evansville home in 2010 when the bodies of 8-year-old Alyssa Lynch and 5-year-old Caleb Lynch were recovered in the fire ruins.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of ruins

Browse Nearby Words

detriments
detritus
de trop
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Cite this Entry

“Detritus.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detritus. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

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