as in debris
the portion or bits of something left over or behind after it has been destroyed
the expanse of tree stumps represented the detritus of a vast forest that had been mercilessly clear-cut
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of detritus
Text chains buzzed into the early-morning hours as arm-chair experts on Tehran speculated what the political detritus would be stateside.
—
Philip Elliott, Time, 23 June 2025
Farmers, after a night of picking, find their fields strewn with detritus: adult diapers, cigarette butts, snack bags, sawdust (essential for drying one’s fingers between bouts with slimy worms), and, in at least one instance, a condom.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 18 June 2025
Crayfish hide in short burrows in the riverbank, under larger rocks or wood, or in detritus that is present in all the parts of the creek.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 16 June 2025
Trash cans spill over with detritus that the coyotes relish.
—Heather Knight, New York Times, 19 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for detritus
Philip Elliott, Time, 23 June 2025
Farmers, after a night of picking, find their fields strewn with detritus: adult diapers, cigarette butts, snack bags, sawdust (essential for drying one’s fingers between bouts with slimy worms), and, in at least one instance, a condom.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 18 June 2025
Crayfish hide in short burrows in the riverbank, under larger rocks or wood, or in detritus that is present in all the parts of the creek.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 16 June 2025
Trash cans spill over with detritus that the coyotes relish.
—Heather Knight, New York Times, 19 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for detritus
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detritus
Noun
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The self-emptying autowash dock can hold up to 74 days of auto-emptying vacuum debris and four weeks of mopping and pad washing.—
Stephanie Osmanski,
Better Homes & Gardens,
9 July 2025
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Some will examine debris piles as they're dismantled by excavators and skid steers.—
Greg Allen,
NPR,
9 July 2025
Noun
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The Palestinian health ministry reported Sunday that 139 bodies had been brought to Gaza hospitals in the past 24 hours, with a number of victims still under the rubble.—
Tim Lister,
CNN Money,
14 July 2025
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For 21 months, Israeli armed forces have been bombing Gaza into a landscape of rubble and buried corpses—a massively disproportionate retaliation for the Hamas attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed over 1,200 Israelis.—
Daniel R. Depetris,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 July 2025
Noun
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Authorities were notified of a midair collision in an area just south of Steinbach shortly before 9 a.m. RCMP, fire crews, and emergency medical services responded to the scene and located the wreckage of two small single-engine aircraft.—
Muri Assunção,
New York Daily News,
9 July 2025
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The content may be used in future stories depicting the wreckage in central Texas as communities continue to grapple with the tragedy.—
Anthony Robledo,
USA Today,
8 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Detritus.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detritus. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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