as in to settle
to cause to come to rest at the bottom (as of a liquid)
the water flowing into the reservoir is sedimenting silt faster than was originally expected
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in silt
matter that settles to the bottom of a body of liquid
the sediment at the bottom of the river needs to be routinely dredged so that it doesn't interfere with barge traffic
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sediment
Kansas City Star, 10 Apr. 2024
The team observed the octopuses launch objects and sediment several body lengths away.
—Corryn Wetzel, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Sep. 2021
K. R. Callaway, Scientific American, 23 Jan. 2026
These grains record how rocks and sediments moved across Britain over millions of years.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 22 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sediment
Verb
The exploration data collected to-date indicates that previous historical open pit heap leaching operations did not advance their plans to develop attractive, wide, shallow gold-silver mineralization hosted in major structural zones in the Bisbee Group sediments west of the Contention Pit.
—Kansas City Star, 10 Apr. 2024
The team observed the octopuses launch objects and sediment several body lengths away.
—Corryn Wetzel, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Sep. 2021
Noun
Some of the skeleton’s teeth were first found in the sediments of Lake Turkana by Arbollo Aike of the Koobi Fora Research Project in 2012.
—K. R. Callaway, Scientific American, 23 Jan. 2026
These grains record how rocks and sediments moved across Britain over millions of years.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 22 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sediment
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sediment
Verb
-
Brent crude futures settled above $70.—
Jason Gewirtz,
CNBC,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Russia's advance in Ukraine has largely settled into a grinding war of attrition, and analysts say that Russian President Vladimir Putin is in no rush to find a settlement, despite his army's difficulties on the roughly 600-mile front line.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Its heliacal rising would herald the annual flooding of the Nile Valley, the waters re-fertilizing the fields with silt.—
Joe Rao,
Space.com,
23 Jan. 2026
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Rainy days turn the sand and dust on Nome’s streets into a thin grayish silt.—
Ian Frazier,
New Yorker,
19 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Vogue is committed to reporting and riffing on the global fashion conversation—always filtered through the lens of culture and what’s happening in the world at large.—
Vogue,
Vogue,
1 Feb. 2026
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The neighborhood/area Uptown Sedona sits just above L’Auberge, keeping guests sheltered from traffic and tourists, but construction noise from buildings along 89A can filter down to the rooms.—
Asonta Benetti,
Condé Nast Traveler,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Dupont sued last spring, and Hartford Superior Court Judge Lisa Morgan recently ordered that witnesses for both side must give depositions this fall to keep the case on track for a possible 2027 trial.—
Don Stacom,
Hartford Courant,
26 Jan. 2026
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Kurtz, from YouTube, said in her deposition that the company had not measured the effectiveness of YouTube to improve students’ learning and did not have data to show its content boosted students’ grades, graduation rates or test scores.—
Tyler Kingkade,
NBC news,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
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For instance, having to make a minimum deposit to open the account or meet a minimum daily balance to earn the high APY.—
Andreina Rodriguez,
CNBC,
29 Jan. 2026
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During future fly-bys of Io, Juno will survey the moon’s surface looking for new lava flows and ash deposits resulting from this spectacular volcanic eruption.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The polyester precipitates from the solvent upon cooling, and can likewise be reused.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
26 Nov. 2025
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The longer this cooling time is, the more likely the individual precipitate is to grow, according to details released by MIT.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sediment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sediment. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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