sediment

noun sed·i·ment \ ˈse-də-mənt \

|Updated on: 13 Jun 2018

Examples: sediment in a Sentence

Definition of sediment

1 : the matter that settles to the bottom of a liquid

2 : material deposited by water, wind, or glaciers

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Examples of sediment in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of sediment from the Web

Since its construction in 1928, the Conowingo has trapped sediment, nitrogen and phosphorus that flow down the Susquehanna from Pennsylvania and New York.

— scott dance, baltimoresun.com, "Conowingo Dam owner Exelon sues Maryland officials over demands that it help reduce Susquehanna River pollution," 1 June 2018
The conditions under which the fossil was found - in marine sediments but surrounded by fossilized land plants - suggest that a powerful storm hit the coastline where megachirella lived and swept the tiny critter out to sea.

— sarah kaplan, chicagotribune.com, "Meet the 240-million-year-old 'mother of all lizards'," 30 May 2018
Previous research had examined the balance between how much nitrogen in sediments makes it to the mantle (the layer below the earth’s crust) and how much volcanoes release into the atmosphere (which is 78 percent nitrogen).

— doug main, Scientific American, "Mystery of Earth's Missing Nitrogen Solved," 29 May 2018
There was a massive increase in sediment which worsened the water quality surrounded the coral.

— david grossman, Popular Mechanics, "The Many Deaths And Rebirths of the Great Barrier Reef," 29 May 2018
Heavy clay soils and all that sediment clouds the sunlight.

— keith matheny, Detroit Free Press, "Surprising species helps Lake Michigan E. coli levels," 25 May 2018
The big ice mountains didn't touch this part of the state, leaving behind a hillier topography and not leaving behind glacial drift (rocks and other sediment) and the lakes that dot the rest of Wisconsin.

— chelsey lewis, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Paddling the Pecatonica through the Driftless Region," 24 May 2018
Sinkholes appear when rainwater loosens sediment beneath the ground; Washington D.C.’s (literal) swampiness appears to make the city vulnerable to this phenomenon.

— benjamin hart, Daily Intelligencer, "Sinkhole/Possible Metaphor Appears Outside White House," 22 May 2018
And then also where there are patches of soft sediment.

— andrea thompson, Scientific American, "Antarctic Quest Seeks to Predict the Fate of a Linchpin Glacier," 14 May 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of sediment

Latin sedimentum settling, from sedēre to sit, sink down

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1547

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

sediment Synonyms

Synonyms

deposit, deposition, dregs, grounds, precipitate, settlings;

Related Words

lees;

ooze, silt, sludge;

dross, slag, waste;

Other Geology Terms

anthracite, boulder, cwm, erratic, igneous, intrusive, mesa, sedimentary, silt, swale

sediment

verb sed·i·ment \ ˈse-də-ˌment \

Definition of sediment

sedimented; sedimenting; sediments

transitive verb

: to deposit as sediment

intransitive verb

1 : to settle to the bottom in a liquid

2 : to deposit sediment

Examples of sediment in a Sentence

the water flowing into the reservoir is sedimenting silt faster than was originally expected

Recent Examples of sediment from the Web

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, "Yellowstone’s massive volcano could erupt more frequently than scientists thought," 25 Oct. 2017