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TAKE THE QUIZAtterberg limit
noun
At·ter·berg limit
ˈa-tər-ˌbərg-
ˈä-tər-ˌber-ē-
civil engineering
: a measure of a soil sample's capacity for containing water used to determine the soil's structural characteristics
—usually plural
Note: The Atterberg limits indicate the transition points where a soil's physical behavior changes. The limits most commonly studied are the Plastic Limit, which identifies how much water a given soil can hold before it changes consistency between crumbly and plastic, and the Liquid Limit, where the soil changes consistency between plastic and liquid.
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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