as in pile
a small quantity of stones heaped together that usually marks a place
A cairn of loose stones marked the site.
Related Words
Relevance
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 cairn
Most remarkable is the cairn-tomb of Gavrinis, one of Europe's great repositories of megalithic art, its interior replete with swirling patterns carved into the rock some 6,000 years ago.
—
The Week Uk, theweek, 12 Oct. 2024
The bones excavated at the site were returned to King William Island in 1994 and interred in a memorial cairn.
—Katie Hunt, CNN, 11 Oct. 2024
Ranger died in 1940 and was buried at the summit of Mount Hood, which is marked by a stone cairn and an engraved plaque.
—Meira Gebel, Axios, 20 Sep. 2024
The trail can be confusing so keep an eye open for cairns and tree notches serving as trail markers.
—Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 18 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for cairn
The Week Uk, theweek, 12 Oct. 2024
The bones excavated at the site were returned to King William Island in 1994 and interred in a memorial cairn.
—Katie Hunt, CNN, 11 Oct. 2024
Ranger died in 1940 and was buried at the summit of Mount Hood, which is marked by a stone cairn and an engraved plaque.
—Meira Gebel, Axios, 20 Sep. 2024
The trail can be confusing so keep an eye open for cairns and tree notches serving as trail markers.
—Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 18 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for cairn
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cairn
Noun
-
When firefighters arrived at the scene, multiple cars and piles of rubbish were on fire.—
Julia Gomez,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Three decades on, Martin is invited to Ben’s lavish birthday party at the Fitzmaurice’s country pile, but Martin fears that the publicity of Ben’s bid for Conservative leader will dredge up the secrets of their past with tragic consequences.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
But the 2015 international signing out of Venezuela never got his chance to reach the Fenway Park mound, despite emphatic praise from manager Alex Cora for Mata's performance in spring training this year.—
Jon Vankin,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Nov. 2025
-
Coral fanatics will love visiting Negril, home to mountainous coral mounds and ethereal swim-through caves where green and red soft corals hang down like mystical fingers.—
Adrienne Jordan,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
During a recent clean-out, I was shocked by the various levels of color saturation in my stack of black jeans.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
8 Nov. 2025
-
Atlas toward pushing control boundaries and Optimus toward integration with production-line economics and perception stacks adapted from autonomous driving.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The coastline offers crystal-clear waters, coral reefs and rugged mountains, while Aqaba Castle and the old seaport offer authentic historical textures.—
Rafa Sales Ross,
Variety,
10 Nov. 2025
-
The season begins in October and peaks in early December in the mountains, the state says.—
Mark Price,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cairn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cairn. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share