as in pile
a small quantity of stones heaped together that usually marks a place
A cairn of loose stones marked the site.
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Recent Examples of cairn
Young Hopi men traditionally descended the rugged Salt Trail to the Little Colorado and Sípàapuni, contributing rocks to a cairn that still stands along the route and gathering salt to bring home.
—
Brandon Loomis, AZCentral.com, 15 Dec. 2025
Adam picked up a stone to top off each cairn.
—Stephanie Danler, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Nov. 2025
Found around the perimeter ring, there are six additional cairns.
—Mike Bezemek, Outside, 29 Oct. 2025
Stone cairns, serpentine walls, earthen mounds, balance rocks, ancient spring wells, and interesting stone enclosures have been identified as potential early cultural evidence of pre-European native use.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 3 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for cairn
Brandon Loomis, AZCentral.com, 15 Dec. 2025
Adam picked up a stone to top off each cairn.
—Stephanie Danler, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Nov. 2025
Found around the perimeter ring, there are six additional cairns.
—Mike Bezemek, Outside, 29 Oct. 2025
Stone cairns, serpentine walls, earthen mounds, balance rocks, ancient spring wells, and interesting stone enclosures have been identified as potential early cultural evidence of pre-European native use.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 3 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for cairn
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cairn
Noun
-
Though the worst has not come to pass, Moscow’s decision — driven by domestic shortfalls caused by Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries — piles further pressure on the sector.—
Prashant Rao,
semafor.com,
2 June 2026
-
The conglomerate held a record cash pile of nearly $400 billion at the end of March.—
Yun Li,
CNBC,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
Dodgers left-hander Justin Wrobleski shouted two words — the first of which didn’t appear to be fit for print — and strode off the mound, the icy expression on his face frozen in place all the way to the dugout.—
Maddie Lee,
Los Angeles Times,
30 May 2026
-
The inning got out of hand with left-hander Brent Suter on the mound.—
Jeff Fletcher,
Oc Register,
30 May 2026
Noun
-
The technology stack comes second.—
Malana VanTyler,
USA Today,
3 June 2026
-
The marble baths have stacks of oversized towels, impressive waterfall-like pressure in the showers, soaking tubs, and Diptyque toiletries in eco-friendly pump bottles.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
The best treks were clustered in the Greater Caucasus mountains, not far from the Russian border.—
Lori Rackl,
Boston Herald,
31 May 2026
-
Many of the rooms at this ultra-luxe hideaway dangle from rocky ledges, are sandwiched between cliff crevices or are embedded like caves in the interior of the mountains, connecting guests intimately with the landscape.—
Lauren Keith,
Robb Report,
30 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cairn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cairn. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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