detritus
noun
Michael Tomasky
Did you know?
If you use detritus in speech, remember to stress the second syllable, as you do in the words arthritis and bronchitis. Once you've mastered its meaning and pronunciation, you’ll find that detritus is a term—originally a geology term referring to loose material, such as broken rock fragments, resulting from disintegration—that can be applied in many situations. After the first hard freeze of fall, gardens are littered with the detritus of summer’s plants and produce: stalks, leaves, vines, and maybe even an abandoned hand trowel. As a flood-swollen river retreats to its banks, it leaves detritus—debris gathered by the raging waters—in its wake. The detritus of civilization may include junkyards and abandoned buildings, while mental detritus may include all kinds of useless trivia. (We’re not saying it qualifies as such, but detritus comes from the Latin root deterere, meaning “to wear away, impair.”)
Did you know?
How Do You Pronounce detritus?
After the first hard freeze of fall, gardens are sadly littered with the detritus of the summer's plants and produce: stalks, leaves, vines, rotted vegetables, and maybe even a hand trowel left behind. As the flooding Mississippi River retreats back to its ordinary course, it leaves detritus behind in its wake, debris gathered from everywhere by the raging waters. The detritus of civilization may include junkyards and abandoned buildings; mental detritus may include all kinds of useless trivia. Notice how this word is pronounced; for some reason, people often try to accent the first syllable rather than the second.
Examples of detritus in a Sentence
Sacbee.com, 14 July 2025
The swollen river has receded, leaving behind heartbreaking signs of the devastation: little girls’ suitcases and clothes strewn along the wrecked cabin grounds and plush toys caked with detritus, twisted metal and gnarled vehicles.
—Jon Schuppe, NBC news, 8 July 2025
Marcus, still navigating the grief and logistical detritus of losing his mother, earns recognition as an up-and-coming chef by Food & Wine magazine.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 26 June 2025
One artist talked about how, for them, the apron absorbed the detritus of all the things that happened in the home, not just the mess from cooking or cleaning, but emotional fallout too.
—Nicole Mowbray, CNN Money, 25 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for detritus
Cite this Entry
“Detritus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/detritus. Accessed 7 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
detritus
noun
Medical Definition
detritus
noun
-ˈtrī-ˌtüs
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