as in debris
the portion or bits of something left over or behind after it has been destroyed
the dispirited family picked through the flotsam of their possessions after the hurricane, looking for anything that could be salvaged
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Recent Examples of flotsam
Jupiter’s location in the path of the Gulf Stream means there’s a constant flow of tropical water that improves the ocean’s clarity and visibility by carrying out any algae, flotsam, or runoff that accumulates.
—
Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 20 May 2025
That Jia could make anything out of that flotsam and jetsam is astonishing, but his ability to not only recreate those time frames but craft all of it into a woozy, free-floating memory piece is miraculous.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 9 May 2025
But that pick should be something the Kings can leverage, along with the second-round selections in some trade flotsam down the road.
—Zach Harper, The Athletic, 3 Feb. 2025
Federal officials and experts are warning that the winds and floodwaters from Helene that wrecked the Southeast carry unscrupulous fraudsters amid the flotsam.
—Michael Loria, USA TODAY, 2 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for flotsam
Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 20 May 2025
That Jia could make anything out of that flotsam and jetsam is astonishing, but his ability to not only recreate those time frames but craft all of it into a woozy, free-floating memory piece is miraculous.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 9 May 2025
But that pick should be something the Kings can leverage, along with the second-round selections in some trade flotsam down the road.
—Zach Harper, The Athletic, 3 Feb. 2025
Federal officials and experts are warning that the winds and floodwaters from Helene that wrecked the Southeast carry unscrupulous fraudsters amid the flotsam.
—Michael Loria, USA TODAY, 2 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for flotsam
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flotsam
Noun
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Chavez's action on that night left the crowd at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona, showering the ring with debris.—
Trent Reinsmith,
Forbes.com,
27 June 2025
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Less than two minutes into the burn, the motor's exhaust nozzle violently shattered into countless shards of debris.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
26 June 2025
Noun
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Firefighters from the Philadelphia Fire Department, using a search dog, continued to sift through the rubble in the Nicetown neighborhood Sunday afternoon, looking for victims and what caused the blast, according to Daniel McCarty, the fire department's executive officer.—
Bill Hutchinson,
ABC News,
29 June 2025
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In addition to aerial attacks, a man died when Russian troops shelled the city of Kherson, and the body of a 70-year-old woman was found under the rubble of a nine-story building hit by Russian shelling in the Zaporizhzhia region.—
Volodymyr Yurchuk,
Chicago Tribune,
29 June 2025
Noun
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The power of the blast sent wreckage flying across the river into Mexican territory.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
27 June 2025
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The exhibit trailer flipped end-over-end, then ripped in half, scattering flyers and lead cowboy figurines across the burning wreckage.—
Hazlitt,
Hazlitt,
18 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flotsam.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flotsam. Accessed 11 Jul. 2025.
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