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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Recent Examples of cairns
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
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
-
But critics from both sides of the aisle say state government is sitting on unprecedented piles of cash and needs to provide direct relief in the form of tax cuts.—
Keith M. Phaneuf,
Hartford Courant,
2 May 2026
-
Night after night after closing his Boyle Heights bicycle shop, Reyes brought his equipment down the long, dark corridor leading to the bikes — initially about 280 of them — that were tossed in piles over the years.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
1 May 2026
Noun
-
These trees and shrubs range in size from compact mounds to pyramidal trees, offering endless design opportunities.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
29 Apr. 2026
-
At the new Orkin Discovery Zone inside the Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta, visitors can learn how termites and the mounds these bulbous invertebrates make have inspired the chimneys in our homes.—
Olivia Wakim,
AJC.com,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
High-density housing stacks more annual tax revenue into smaller areas.—
Linh Tat,
Oc Register,
4 May 2026
-
Redox flow batteries are a better choice for long-term, grid-scale storage – and FlexBase says the various components needed for them, like tanks, membranes, cell stacks and pumps, have become cheaper as the industry has matured in recent years.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
2 May 2026
Noun
-
Mobile homes at Wash Trailer Park in Bogue Chitto were reduced to heaps of twisted metal and debris; Lincoln County alone reported roughly 200 homes damaged.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
7 May 2026
-
Pollack heaps praise on director Abbi Motlagh.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
4 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cairns.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cairns. Accessed 8 May. 2026.
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