as in dirt
solid matter discharged from an animal's alimentary canal
the only bad part about owning a rabbit was cleaning the droppings out of the litter box every night
Synonyms & Similar 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 droppings
Arakawa died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, caused by hantavirus, which is a flu-like illness connected to rodent droppings, saliva, and urine.
—
Marina Watts, PEOPLE, 27 Jan. 2026
Sacramento County health inspectors closed four local eateries including two gas station markets, a nursing home and market due to cockroaches, more than 180 rodent droppings and a lack of hot water.
—Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado
updated January 23, Sacbee.com, 23 Jan. 2026
Mouse droppings were hidden where the floor and wall met.
—Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 23 Jan. 2026
The fungus comes from soil that is contaminated with bird or bat droppings, according to state officials.
—Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 21 Jan. 2026
In turn, the plant absorbs nutrients from the insects’ droppings.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 20 Jan. 2026
Rodent droppings were found at Kuppanna, at 1301 Custer Road Suite 510, health inspectors observed more than five rodent droppings on the floor in a dry storage area.
—Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Jan. 2026
Look for common signs of bed bugs on the mattress, box spring, headboard, and furniture, including bloodstains, droppings, or live insects.
—Taryn White, Travel + Leisure, 15 Jan. 2026
Fresh droppings will be shiny, while older ones will be crumbly.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 12 Jan. 2026
Marina Watts, PEOPLE, 27 Jan. 2026
Sacramento County health inspectors closed four local eateries including two gas station markets, a nursing home and market due to cockroaches, more than 180 rodent droppings and a lack of hot water.
—Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado
updated January 23, Sacbee.com, 23 Jan. 2026
Mouse droppings were hidden where the floor and wall met.
—Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 23 Jan. 2026
The fungus comes from soil that is contaminated with bird or bat droppings, according to state officials.
—Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 21 Jan. 2026
In turn, the plant absorbs nutrients from the insects’ droppings.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 20 Jan. 2026
Rodent droppings were found at Kuppanna, at 1301 Custer Road Suite 510, health inspectors observed more than five rodent droppings on the floor in a dry storage area.
—Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Jan. 2026
Look for common signs of bed bugs on the mattress, box spring, headboard, and furniture, including bloodstains, droppings, or live insects.
—Taryn White, Travel + Leisure, 15 Jan. 2026
Fresh droppings will be shiny, while older ones will be crumbly.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 12 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for droppings
Noun
-
Satellite images show piles of dirt from the excavation growing in size.—
Jon Gambrell,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Jan. 2026
-
This removes dirt or pesticides.—
Stacey Lastoe,
Southern Living,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The streets are begrimed by factory smoke, fecund with horse dung and lit by lanterns.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
-
These rodents left 15 pieces of dung on top of the dishwasher.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
19 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Only water when the top layer of soil is dry, and never let puddles sit in the saucer.—
Patricia Shannon,
Southern Living,
1 Feb. 2026
-
And as the Olympics return to American soil in 2002, Kidd joined Meet the Press to reflect on what that moment meant.—
NBC news,
NBC news,
1 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
By examining the whales' excrement, the scientists who work with Eba can try to identify ways for the orcas to rebound.—
Kelli Bender,
PEOPLE,
19 Jan. 2026
-
The disposal of human excrement is not a new issue.—
NPR,
NPR,
19 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Several people stepped in the poop and tracked it on the driveway and in my garage.—
Ticked Off,
The Orlando Sentinel,
30 Jan. 2026
-
After saying his goodbyes, Dunk picks up Arlan’s sword in the shining sun and has a hero moment worthy of Jon Snow or Jaime Lannister — but then gets a queasy stomach and explosively poops behind a tree.—
Jordan Moreau,
Variety,
19 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
More recent studies of urban coyote scat indicate that in most cities the percentage of trash, pet food, and other human food actually comes in at only about 2 percent.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 Jan. 2026
-
With just a pea-size glob of scat, biologists can genetically decode which individual whale produced the sample.—
Kelso Harper,
Scientific American,
16 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Droppings.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/droppings. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
