sludge

noun \ ˈsləj \

Updated on: 16 Apr 2018

Definition of sludge

1 : mud, mire; especially : a muddy deposit (as on a riverbed) : ooze

2 : a muddy or slushy mass, deposit, or sediment: such as

a : precipitated solid matter produced by water and sewage treatment processes

b : muddy sediment in a steam boiler

c : a precipitate or settling (such as a mixture of impurities and acid) from a mineral oil

3 : slush 5

—

sludgy

play \ˈslə-jē\ adjective

See sludge defined for English-language learners

See sludge defined for kids

Examples of sludge in a Sentence

after a day of heavy rain, the fairgrounds had turned into pure sludge
I can't bring myself to read that sludge.

Recent Examples of sludge from the Web

But in January, the neighboring town of West Jefferson filed an injunction against Big Sky to keep the sludge from being stored in a nearby rail yard.

— aj willingham, CNN, "Why trainloads of other people's poo have been rotting in an Alabama town for months," 3 Apr. 2018
New Yorkers flush the toilet millions of times a day, creating 1,200 tons of biosolids, or treated sewage sludge.

— kate king, WSJ, "New York City’s Sewage Shipment Runs Afoul in Rural South," 30 Mar. 2018
Brown water poured down our path; the earth turned to sludge.

— david fettling, Longreads, "Uncomfortable Silences: A Walk in Myanmar," 29 Mar. 2018
Veolia Water has operated the Jones Island and South Shore sewage treatment plants, regional sewers, deep tunnel and Milorganite sludge fertilizer factory since March 2008.

— don behm, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "MMSD penalizes Veolia Water Milwaukee for discharge violations at Jones Island sewage plant," 27 Mar. 2018
The river, ordinarily a greenish-brown color, now resembled milky tea, and a drab sludge slathered its banks.

— naomi fry, The New Yorker, "Scott Pruitt’s Dirty Politics," 3 Apr. 2017
When all that beautiful movement turns to sludge, and getting a bucket requires not just skill, but fortitude and strength.

— shawn windsor, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan basketball rides defense to reach Final Four: Three takeaways," 24 Mar. 2018
The amount of detritus found — which also includes chemical sludge, fishing nets and other floating rubbish — was four-to-16 times bigger than the two previous studies, which estimated the amount of debris using different methods of measurement.

— peter fimrite, San Francisco Chronicle, "Great Pacific Garbage Patch is now three times the size of France," 22 Mar. 2018
Surely there must be more at play than just overeating high-fat and high-sugar sludge and avoiding exercise at all costs.

— bryant stamford, The Courier-Journal, "Americans are eager to hear obesity is not our fault. New research adds to the debate," 22 Mar. 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of sludge

Middle English slugge, perhaps alteration of slicche mud, slush; akin to Old High German slīh mire

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

sludge Synonyms

Synonyms

guck (or gook), mire, muck, mud, ooze, slime, slop, slush;

Related Words

gumbo, silt;

clay, dirt, gravel, humus, loam, sand, soil;

SLUDGE Defined for English Language Learners

sludge

noun

Definition of sludge for English Language Learners

: thick, soft, wet mud
: a soft, thick material that is produced in various industrial processes (such as in the treatment of sewage)
: a thick material that can form in the oil in an engine and cause engine problems