Thesaurus results for CAIRNS

cairns

noun

Definition of cairns

plural of cairn

as in piles

a small quantity of stones heaped together that usually marks a place A cairn of loose stones marked the site.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of cairns Every few feet were cairns of glass swept away from shattered storefronts. — Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 22 June 2026 The Park Service recommends that people not disturb, knock down or add to cairns, though some parks caution visitors not to rely on them as official pathways. — Noah Lyons, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Jan. 2026 Above the glacial lake Ullswater, prehistoric cairns and burial mounds dot the high moorland, including the Cockpit Stone Circle, which spans 90 feet. — Andrea Bussell, Travel + Leisure, 27 Dec. 2025 Found around the perimeter ring, there are six additional cairns. — Mike Bezemek, Outside, 29 Oct. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cairns

Noun

When snow piles deep in the upper reaches, animals have no choice but to migrate down, since their food sources are covered with snow.

— Jim Zumbo, Outdoor Life, 10 Sep. 2026
Last June, the European Anti-Fraud Office found huge piles of textile waste—somewhere around 4,200 tonnes—illegally shipped from Italy to Turkey in order to avoid expensive recycling requirements.

— Roy Stephen Canivel, Footwear News, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of piles

Noun

Plus, one of the Legislature’s last acts last week was to send Newsom a bloated supplemental budget bill containing more than $3 billion in spending, including countless stacks of pork sought by lawmakers for their districts.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2026
Her existence is solitary by design, freeing her up to disappear into her studies at all hours of the night, the doors of every institution seemingly always ready to welcome her into its stacks and viewing stations and leather reading chairs.

— Alison Willmore, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of stacks

Noun

Scattered along the walls of the studio were tidy heaps of scarves and mesh, rainbows of stripes, every shade of ballet pink, Uggs of every height.

— Claire Salinda, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2026
In the video obtained by AP, divers could be seen jumping from their boats and swimming down to heaps of amphorae, each of which was covered in years of sand and barnacles.

— Desiree Anello, PEOPLE, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of heaps

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cairn

cairns

caisson

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“Cairns.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cairns. Accessed 11 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of cairns

noun

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