as in dung
solid matter discharged from an animal's alimentary canal
polite people do not discuss ordure in public
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Recent Examples of ordure
The script was based on the 1979 French play and subsequent 1982 film Le père Noël est une ordure (Santa Claus Is a Stinker).
—
Glenn Garner, Deadline, 21 Dec. 2024
On the face of it, packing the ordure of millions into open-air mounds is a terrible approach to a more livable planet, particularly in a part of the world where scavengers don’t comb through them for every salable scrap.
—Curbed, 12 Aug. 2022
My group first watched a video, which explained that the plant’s effluent would be released into the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, a thirty-mile-long waterway built in the late nineteenth century to rid the city of its ordure.
—Elizabeth Kolbert, The New York Review of Books, 9 Feb. 2022
Poking at the ordure with a stick, Cipollone pointed out the beech mast and berries on which the bear had fed.
—Christopher Preston, The Atlantic, 9 Apr. 2020
President Nicolás Manuro: Creating ordure out of chaos.
—Washington Post, 9 Aug. 2019
In gardens, the scent of frangipani carries on the damp breeze; in cities, that unmistakably Indian blend of ordure, asphalt and spice.
—The Economist, 27 June 2019
Even a seemingly natural savannah, the African grasslands in the Mara-Serengeti, has benefited from the healing powers of animal ordure, produced by the livestock of human herders thousands of years ago.
—Bill Andrews, Discover Magazine, 29 Aug. 2018
At the bottom of the tube sat a half-inch of what looked like frozen mud, but was, in fact, orca ordure.
—Kate Brooks, Smithsonian, 30 Sep. 2017
Glenn Garner, Deadline, 21 Dec. 2024
On the face of it, packing the ordure of millions into open-air mounds is a terrible approach to a more livable planet, particularly in a part of the world where scavengers don’t comb through them for every salable scrap.
—Curbed, 12 Aug. 2022
My group first watched a video, which explained that the plant’s effluent would be released into the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, a thirty-mile-long waterway built in the late nineteenth century to rid the city of its ordure.
—Elizabeth Kolbert, The New York Review of Books, 9 Feb. 2022
Poking at the ordure with a stick, Cipollone pointed out the beech mast and berries on which the bear had fed.
—Christopher Preston, The Atlantic, 9 Apr. 2020
President Nicolás Manuro: Creating ordure out of chaos.
—Washington Post, 9 Aug. 2019
In gardens, the scent of frangipani carries on the damp breeze; in cities, that unmistakably Indian blend of ordure, asphalt and spice.
—The Economist, 27 June 2019
Even a seemingly natural savannah, the African grasslands in the Mara-Serengeti, has benefited from the healing powers of animal ordure, produced by the livestock of human herders thousands of years ago.
—Bill Andrews, Discover Magazine, 29 Aug. 2018
At the bottom of the tube sat a half-inch of what looked like frozen mud, but was, in fact, orca ordure.
—Kate Brooks, Smithsonian, 30 Sep. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ordure
Noun
-
Rodents left dung pieces in the bun storage area (over 25); dry storage shelves (over 10); the front counter cabinet where the soda machine equipment is (over 10); and behind the air conditioning unit on the second floor (over 20).—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
17 Oct. 2025
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Or that tossed off, scrapped, relegated to the dung heap of failed work, the unconscious keeps turning and turning the deep images and obsessions.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Orchids are heavy feeders, and their soil alone won't provide enough nutrients for them.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
29 Oct. 2025
-
Add compost to the soil to provide organic matter and improve soil structure.—
Andy Wilcox,
Better Homes & Gardens,
29 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Maybe this was not just White House dirt but Roosevelt-era dirt.—
Nancy Walecki,
The Atlantic,
25 Oct. 2025
-
The vacuum can effectively suck up dirt, debris, and pet hair from all floor types, including hard floors, carpets, and area rugs.—
Maggie Horton,
PEOPLE,
25 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ordure.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ordure. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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