1
as in garbage
discarded or useless material
the unsightly debris left after mining operations had ceased
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in rubble
the portion or bits of something left over or behind after it has been destroyed
the demolition workers cleared away all of the debris from the demolished building
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 debris
Brian, meanwhile, had been caught in the debris as the towers collapsed.
—
Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
The charred shell of his car, motorcycle and chimney of his house and the rest of the debris still haven’t been cleaned up, persistent reminders of what was.
—Michael Slaten, Oc Register, 10 Sep. 2025
Their groves typically burn every 10 years, and vegetation and debris don’t build up to levels that feed fires of tree-killing intensity, Blom said.
—Ethan Baron, Mercury News, 10 Sep. 2025
Do not burn debris or other items during an air quality alert.
—Star-Telegram Weather Bot, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for debris
Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
The charred shell of his car, motorcycle and chimney of his house and the rest of the debris still haven’t been cleaned up, persistent reminders of what was.
—Michael Slaten, Oc Register, 10 Sep. 2025
Their groves typically burn every 10 years, and vegetation and debris don’t build up to levels that feed fires of tree-killing intensity, Blom said.
—Ethan Baron, Mercury News, 10 Sep. 2025
Do not burn debris or other items during an air quality alert.
—Star-Telegram Weather Bot, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for debris
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debris
Noun
-
Start With Clean, Reliable Data Garbage in, garbage out.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
-
By the end, Flacco was removed from the game and rookie Dillon Gabriel led a garbage-time touchdown drive capped by an 8-yard scoring pass to Dylan Sampson.—
Zac Jackson,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Every window was blown out, and rubble littered the ground.—
Ken Harbaugh,
The Atlantic,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Images from the incident show firefighters on the scene searching through the rubble of the building following the explosion.—
Escher Walcott,
PEOPLE,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
After the new additions of Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska (as well as Please Don’t Destroy member Ben Marshall), it was believed that the dust had settled on the cast shakeups.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
13 Sep. 2025
-
And once the dust clears, the mystery is overshadowed by all the broken people left in its wake.—
Travis Bean,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
What To Know Warsaw said that Russian drones violated Polish airspace 19 times on the night of September 9 and 10, with data showing the wreckage of Russian drones across the country.—
Brendan Cole,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Footage of the aftermath of the collision posted on social media shows a large fire and pillars of dark smoke emanating from the wreckage.—
Toria Sheffield,
PEOPLE,
14 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Soldiers have also been spotted in parks carrying out tasks typically assigned to gardeners and landscapers – shoveling mulch, blowing leaves and scooping up trash.—
Cybele Mayes-Osterman,
USA Today,
14 Sep. 2025
-
When the news first spread through the Burning Man rumor mill, the first reaction seemed to be confusion — rumors there are supposed to be about whether Daft Punk is playing at the trash fence or a major art piece burn has been rescheduled, not a grisly death.—
Denver Nicks,
Rolling Stone,
14 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
An upholstered bench from her studio features a handmade ceramic button imprinted with textures from nearby ruins—a homage to the city on her doorstep.—
Keith Flanagan,
Architectural Digest,
11 Sep. 2025
-
During the eight-day cruise, guests will visit the terra-cotta temples in Kalna, the Nawabi palaces of Murshidabad, the Mughal gardens of Khushbagh, the haunting ruins of Gaur, and Mayapur’s sprawling Hare Krishna complex.—
Bailey Berg,
AFAR Media,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the police headquarters in Denpasar, Bali’s capital, on Saturday as some burned rubbish on the street and police fired tear gas into the crowd.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
1 Sep. 2025
-
Pieces of plastic, including bottles, bags, straws and cutlery, make up two thirds of the rubbish found in rivers around the world, according to a new analysis.—
Jamie Hailstone,
Forbes.com,
16 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Only keep tools in your junk drawer that are regularly used inside the house for everyday projects.—
Hallie Milstein,
Southern Living,
17 Sep. 2025
-
The huge amounts of space junk in orbit, ranging from nuts and bolts to rocket fairings and dead satellites, pose a serious hazard to satellites and the International Space Station, which has to regularly take evasive action to dodge space shrapnel, much of which is moving faster than a bullet.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Debris.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debris. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share