alluvium

noun

Definition of alluviumnext
as in colluvium

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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 alluvium What used to be open water was heading towards alluvium, and oblivion. — Rob Crossan, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Mar. 2026 At some point, alluvium buried the entire tusk, possibly from major storm flooding. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 14 Aug. 2024 The tusk was covered with alluvium, possibly during a major flooding event, MDEQ said. — Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2024 These waters carried debris called alluvium, that makes up the Delta's fertile soil. — Richard Mason, Arkansas Online, 23 May 2021 Scott traces their advent to a few hundred years later, in a constellation of cities that sprang up on the Mesopotamian alluvium around what was then the northern end of the Persian Gulf. — Tim Flannery, The New York Review of Books, 12 Mar. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for alluvium
  1. sediment
  2. silt
  3. loess
  4. marl
  5. detritus
  6. clay
Noun
  • Clark says large, sediment-laden floods in this region have been increasing in number over the last decade or so, and warming temperatures appear to be part of the cause.
    — Thor Benson, Rolling Stone, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Generally, in high-altitude environments such as mountain ranges, permafrost—basically, frozen soil—holds sediment and rocky material together.
    — Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of sediment
Noun
  • Its bottom is lined with soft, soupy silt that makes traditional bridge pillars impossible.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 31 Aug. 2026
  • What survivors have said At least 279 hydropower workers have been rescued or managed to trudge their way out of the mud and silt riddled tunnels.
    — Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of silt
Noun
  • The base played a critical role in national defense, housing a command bunker, planted deep into the regional loess, that was designed to withstand a nuclear blast.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 July 2026
  • The Rhône's predominantly granite soils versus Walla Walla's basalt bedrock, riverbed cobbles, and windblown loess.
    — Paul Caputo, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
Definition of loess
Noun
  • Freshman Ben Smith became the first NCAA outdoor champion for Oregon in the shot put since Dean Crouser (1982) with a marl of 69-0 1/2.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 11 June 2026
  • Its striking blue-green hues and clarity—allowing visibility of 20 to 30 feet—are due to minimal organic runoff and calcium-rich marl sediment from its glacial origins.
    — Taryn White, Travel + Leisure, 21 May 2026
Definition of marl
Noun
  • The Avalanches are turning their fascination with the detritus of modern life into something unusually expansive.
    — SPIN Staff, SPIN, 2 Sep. 2026
  • The past is not so much foreign as free, free to anyone who is willing to do the work, to enter the past with a spirit of curiosity and a willingness to conjure a living world out of the detritus that history leaves behind.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of detritus
Noun
  • They’re typically hand-shaped from clay, which is very porous.
    — Alexandra Kelly, Martha Stewart, 5 Sep. 2026
  • When to Raise pH in Soil Sandy gardens and areas with lots of granite are more likely to have acidic soil than clay-heavy gardens with an abundance of shale or limestone.
    — Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of clay

Browse Nearby Words

alluvions
alluvium
alluviums
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Cite this Entry

“Alluvium.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/alluvium. Accessed 13 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on alluvium

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about alluvium

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