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
Inside every cairn, the team unearthed countless human and animal bones, often fragmented.
—
Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 28 Mar. 2025
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
Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 28 Mar. 2025
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
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Our government piles regulations on businesses and turns a blind eye as shoplifting ruins retail outlets.—
Phillip Molnar,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Aug. 2025
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A little boy could be seen sliding around in the piles of cash on the floor as other bills fluttered in the air.—
Erin Clack,
People.com,
6 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The Mets’ de facto ace, David Peterson, was on the mound.—
Jerry Beach,
Forbes.com,
15 Aug. 2025
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The Tigers start a 4-game series at 7:40 tonight at the Minnesota Twins, with Tarik Skubal on the mound.—
Leah Olajide,
Freep.com,
14 Aug. 2025
Noun
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For that matter, a one-person startup with a smart AI stack can scale like never before.—
Erik Jost,
Forbes.com,
15 Aug. 2025
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Don’t be fooled by its sports bar vibe; 357 Bar & Grill is open for breakfast and serves the heartiest breakfast (bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, stack of pancakes) in town.—
Shauna Farnell,
Denver Post,
15 Aug. 2025
Noun
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In our first test of its sister S E Performance, the AMG C 63, the battery nearly fully recharged on a day of driving through the mountains of Southern California.—
Scotty Reiss,
Forbes.com,
19 Aug. 2025
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For example, Winters said, Resolution has said that Apache Leap, the mountain to the west of the Magma site that forms the eastern border of Superior, won't be affected by the huge mine.—
Debra Utacia Krol,
AZCentral.com,
19 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cairn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cairn. Accessed 22 Aug. 2025.
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