sediment 1 of 2

Definition of sedimentnext
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

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sediment

2 of 2

noun

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

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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 sediment
Verb
It’s really sedimented and entangled. Emily Watlington, ARTnews.com, 10 June 2026 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
Noun
Some residents had complained about discoloration, sediment, odors and health concerns. Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 10 June 2026 And because sediment accumulates so slowly at these depths, the fossils have remained exposed for thousands or even millions of years. Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 10 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for sediment
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sediment
Verb
  • Serpell revels in all of the complications and contradictions of Toni Morrison, treating her subject with both reverence and even some skepticism and never settling for the easy conclusion.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 June 2026
  • The package sets aside $875 million, including roughly $310 million from the state and $565 million in federal funding, to settle the issue.
    Brittany Miller, FOXNews.com, 11 June 2026
Noun
  • The Hansen Dam Aquatic Center pool was constructed in 1999 in a $15-million project to replace a previous pool in the area that was filled with silt.
    Dante Estrada, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2026
  • The ratio of sand, silt, and clay determines the soil's texture.
    Rae Ford, Martha Stewart, 8 June 2026
Verb
  • Eventually, we were told to disembark and news then filtered through that the pope had been offered the King of Spain’s private plane to fly back to Rome.
    Christopher Lamb, CNN Money, 13 June 2026
  • Some lenses filtered only a small fraction of blue light, while others blocked substantially more, sometimes at the cost of altering color perception.
    Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 13 June 2026
Noun
  • Fired Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor's deposition with Karen Read's lawyers that was scheduled for Monday will not happen until June 25.
    Matt Schooley, CBS News, 8 June 2026
  • So, the deposition has been rescheduled for June 25, the day before the case’s next status conference, and July 14.
    Colleen Cronin, Boston Herald, 8 June 2026
Noun
  • Most contracts allow the buyer to cancel and recover the deposit.
    Gary Singer, Sun Sentinel, 11 June 2026
  • The original Brazilian deposits were largely depleted by the mid-1990s, though copper-bearing tourmalines with similar color and mineral composition were later discovered in Nigeria, Mozambique and Ethiopia.
    Anthony DeMarco, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026
Noun
  • Acid can be used to leach elements like calcium out, then a chemical or energetic process precipitates that calcium as calcium hydroxide.
    Scott K. Johnson, ArsTechnica, 15 May 2026
  • 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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Cite this Entry

“Sediment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sediment. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.

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