jetsam

noun

Definition of jetsamnext
as in remnant

Related 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 jetsam And the Heat’s supporting players at the moment are far better than the flotsam and jetsam that currently are with the Bucks. — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 30 Jan. 2026 Sure, when the pace got really fast, many of these people faded into the background and became the ride’s early flotsam and jetsam. — Frederick Dreier, Outside, 28 Sep. 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 Luke called the vultures back and reshot the scene with the jetsam of pestilence. — Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 6 Nov. 2023 See All Example Sentences for jetsam
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jetsam
  1. remnant
  2. debris
  3. detritus
  4. flotsam
  5. rubble
  6. residue
  7. ruins
Noun
  • The damage comes only a year after intense October 2025 flooding, driven by the remnants of Pacific cyclones.
    — Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Still, the wreck’s most famous remnant is the brass combination lock still in working condition after four centuries buried in sand.
    — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of remnant
Noun
  • Always dispose of infected plant debris, but consider leaving some non-diseased leaves for bees and butterflies.
    — Lauren Landers, The Spruce, 6 Nov. 2026
  • For example, a floor-only cleaning session may be appropriate for routine debris removal, while full-coverage cleaning can be selected when walls, slopes and the waterline also require attention.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of debris
Noun
  • The composition slips in and out of deliberation, a tableau of buckets and plates concentrating energy, which the lighter detritus then loosens and disperses.
    — Kristian Vistrup Madsen, Artforum, 1 Nov. 2026
  • Competitive hackles aside, the ranks of the independent advisory boutique now seem like so much ego detritus, a horse painting above a fireplace.
    — semafor.com, semafor.com, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of detritus
Noun
  • Like a massive ocean swell, which can bear all kinds of flotsam and jetsam ashore, a political wave that is big enough, broad enough and strong enough can carry all manner of unlikely candidates to victory.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 23 Aug. 2026
  • Beyond any of the sociocultural flotsam and jetsam, hanging out with your crush on a lake at a northern latitude both softens and distills all the brain-stem-deep associations with what summer means.
    — Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of flotsam
Noun
  • Ivan Fedorov, co-chair of the regional defense council, said 12 bodies pulled from the rubble had been identified so far.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 5 Nov. 2026
  • The latest Russian aerial barrage underscored the scale of the rebuilding task, as did the ongoing search for people missing beneath rubble after a deadly airstrike in southern Ukraine on Monday.
    — Derek Gatopoulos, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of rubble
Noun
  • Agricultural residues offer one substantial answer, and supply is available at scale.
    — Kari Stoever, Footwear News, 6 Nov. 2026
  • Their surfaces could carry machining oil, coolant residue, dirt and loose metal shavings.
    — Rajesh Iyengar, Forbes.com, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of residue
Noun
  • Pre-Columbian ruins are always near, reachable by boat, trek, and car, on excursions organized by the hotel.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Nov. 2026
  • But as the day wore on, bodies wrapped in white plastic sheets were carried from the ruins and laid in rows as smoke drifted across the shattered landscape.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of ruins

Browse Nearby Words

jets
jetsam
jet set
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Jetsam.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jetsam. Accessed 10 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of defer

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All