quicksand

noun

quick·sand | \ ˈkwik-ˌsand

Definition of quicksand

1 : sand readily yielding to pressure especially : a deep mass of loose sand mixed with water into which heavy objects readily sink

2 : something that entraps or frustrates lead poor people into consumerist quicksand —Robert Wright

Examples of quicksand in a Sentence

freed from the quicksands of war mired in the quicksand of credit card debt

Recent Examples on the Web

Claudia has been a constant in Carson’s quicksand childhood, his legal guardian while Stephens was addicted and homeless; Claudia wrestled him away from his father, who has since been sent to federal prison for drug trafficking. — Simon Montlake, The Christian Science Monitor, "For three families, Tulsa experiment offers chance to grasp American dream," 3 July 2018 There’s a story of at least one rider, who knew the trail very well, but was trying to take a short cut one night and ended up in quicksand and only survived by luck. — National Geographic, "Why the Short-Lived Pony Express Still Fascinates Us," 23 June 2018 Researching airfare is like getting stuck in a pit of quicksand with a Saharan dust storm swirling around you. — Ana Veciana-suarez, miamiherald, "Buckle up! Air travel has become turbulent in more ways than one," 18 June 2018 Her positivity can at times be a little hard to swallow, considering the financial quicksand that still engulfs her. — Marcia Desanctis, Town & Country, "The Strange Saga of Trump Winery," 14 Oct. 2016 As the weight of it all swallows him like quicksand, Hawke’s character plays like cabbie Travis Bickle recast as someone more civilized, a man of the cloth. — Tom Russo, BostonGlobe.com, "‘First Reformed’ is more dark musings from Schrader," 25 May 2018 Liquefaction: Shaking from an earthquake can cause land to behave like quicksand, causing the ground to fail. — Rong-gong Lin Ii, latimes.com, "Worried about being on top of an earthquake fault? New California maps will let you know on a smartphone," 23 Mar. 2018 This is the sort of judicial quicksand that traps many young men into lives of non-productivity. — Phillip Morris, cleveland.com, "Kanye West has a thing or two to learn about American slavery: Phillip Morris," 9 May 2018 But by the third film, 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok, Odin’s authority seems built on quicksand. — David Sims, The Atlantic, "How Marvel Is Rewriting Its World Order," 24 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'quicksand.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.