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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of flotsam
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
Investigating the Tracks' Origins In the study, the researchers assessed the viability of other potential explanations for the lines, including non-human animals, flotsam, the keel of ancient boats, and firewood.
—Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 25 Feb. 2025
The role will give him access to vast amounts of highly sensitive intelligence, as well as the daily flotsam of rumor, speculation and false accusations that F.B.I. agents receive from informants and the public.
—Devlin Barrett, New York Times, 25 Feb. 2025
The Lyles family, meanwhile, remained scattered, rendered flotsam of the American slave system.
—Robert Colby, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flotsam
Michael Loria, USA TODAY, 2 Oct. 2024
Investigating the Tracks' Origins In the study, the researchers assessed the viability of other potential explanations for the lines, including non-human animals, flotsam, the keel of ancient boats, and firewood.
—Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 25 Feb. 2025
The role will give him access to vast amounts of highly sensitive intelligence, as well as the daily flotsam of rumor, speculation and false accusations that F.B.I. agents receive from informants and the public.
—Devlin Barrett, New York Times, 25 Feb. 2025
The Lyles family, meanwhile, remained scattered, rendered flotsam of the American slave system.
—Robert Colby, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flotsam
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flotsam
Noun
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Fortunately, the lighter rainfall levels have decreased the risk of a debris flow taking place in the Eaton and Palisades fire burn scars, a possibility forecasters warned of Monday.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2025
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Satellite imagery showing two Russian A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft with tires and debris on the wings at the Ivanovo air base, Russia, on May 3, 2025.—
Ellie Cook,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 June 2025
Noun
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Responding firefighters helped remove the injured man from the rubble.—
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
5 June 2025
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The pair found the artifact in a pile of rubble near former infantry barracks.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
4 June 2025
Noun
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The thirty-nine-year-old Amelia Earhart and her crew of two navigators, Fred Noonan and Harry Manning, crawled out of the wreckage, unsettled but otherwise unhurt.—
Laurie Gwen Shapiro,
New Yorker,
2 June 2025
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Her body was recovered hours afterwards from beneath the wreckage of a building that was also damaged in the crash.—
Mike Hendricks,
Kansas City Star,
29 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flotsam.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flotsam. Accessed 14 Jun. 2025.
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