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
Samantha Agate, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Apr. 2026
Mud volcanoes ooze liquified brown sediment and emit shimmering curtains of methane bubbles.
—Jeffrey Marlow, New Yorker, 5 Apr. 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
Marine archaeologists have located the wreck of the Dannebroge — the flagship of the Danish-Norwegian fleet — about 50 feet underwater in Copenhagen Harbor, buried in thick sediment and virtually zero visibility.
—Samantha Agate, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Apr. 2026
Mud volcanoes ooze liquified brown sediment and emit shimmering curtains of methane bubbles.
—Jeffrey Marlow, New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sediment
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sediment
Verb
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Yet Musk may settle for more modest accomplishments in the chip industry, given the extreme costs and complexity.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Still, the paranoia has settled in.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
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What Archaeologists Found on the Dannebroge Wreck Divers work in near-darkness amid silt and scattered cannonballs, progressing meter by meter to document and recover objects.—
Samantha Agate,
Miami Herald,
5 Apr. 2026
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Divers work in near-darkness amid silt and scattered cannonballs, progressing meter by meter to document and recover objects before the site is altered.—
Samantha Agate,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
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For much of the week, our wind direction remains generally southerly which will continue to filter in warmer air.—
Rachael Jay,
CBS News,
12 Apr. 2026
-
The war felt far away then—an abstraction to analyze—its consequences filtered through spreadsheets and financial models.—
Pandu Sjahrir,
Fortune,
11 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
In January, 2020, one of the law firms representing the trucking companies sent Garrison a subpoena, asking him to sit for a deposition.—
Patrick Radden Keefe,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
-
The Department of Justice said former Attorney General Pam Bondi will not appear for a closed-door deposition with the committee on Tuesday, April 14 -- which has prompted bipartisan backlash from lawmakers on the committee.—
John Parkinson,
ABC News,
13 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The study got its start when co-author Brian Gootee, a geologist with the Arizona Geological Survey, noticed a resemblance between sand deposits downstream of the Grand Canyon and in the Bidahochi—both contained pink, rounded grains that seemed to have been transported by the same river.—
Cody Cottier,
Scientific American,
16 Apr. 2026
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The highest crests of Shackleton’s rim offer the advantage of near-continuous sunlight, providing a lander or future Moon base a stable source of solar power right next to a crater floor in eternal shadow, where temperatures are cold enough to preserve ancient ice deposits.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
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One such innovative solution is to utilize the natural ability of microbes to precipitate minerals.—
Srishti Gupta,
Interesting Engineering,
31 Mar. 2026
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Hi-hats and snares appear in fragmentary bursts, icy synths precipitate and evaporate, and Zel slithers wryly in the cut.—
Olivier Lafontant,
Pitchfork,
25 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sediment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sediment. Accessed 18 Apr. 2026.
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