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
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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
Mike Desimone, Robb Report, 26 Oct. 2025
Salt builds up at the membrane surface, like sediment in a pipe, reducing the effective pressure by 30 to 50 percent.
—Tejasri Gururaj, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2025
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
In the Yamhill-Carlton and Ribbon Ridge AVAs are perched on 55-million-year-old marine sediments, while the Eola-Amity Hills and Dundee Hills AVAs sit on 12-million-year-old volcanic soils.
—Mike Desimone, Robb Report, 26 Oct. 2025
Salt builds up at the membrane surface, like sediment in a pipe, reducing the effective pressure by 30 to 50 percent.
—Tejasri Gururaj, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sediment
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sediment
Verb
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Steve Coppell’s team were settled and, in Wright and Mark Bright, blessed with one of the most potent strike partnerships in the country.—
Matt Woosnam,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
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Then, a month after Sheen settled in, a typhoon destroyed over half of the sets created for the film, causing production to halt once again.—
Angela Andaloro,
PEOPLE,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
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These silts were left behind when ancient river channels filled up or when floodwaters slowed down and gently dropped tiny particles.—
Pranjal Malewar,
New Atlas,
18 Oct. 2025
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Timber cutting in the Adirondack Mountains was causing so much erosion that the eastern canal’s feeder rivers were filling up with silt.—
Christine Keiner,
The Conversation,
15 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Though unsafe to eat from city waters, oysters are among the most efficient purifying devices, each adult capable of filtering up to fifty gallons a day.—
Ben McGrath,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
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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 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The reason for this striking look is the inhibitor gene which suppresses pigment deposition at the base of the hair shaft, giving the cat the shimmering effect.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
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Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino is expected to sit for a deposition Thursday morning in a lawsuit over his agency’s immigration enforcement tactics in the Chicago area.—
Devan Cole,
CNN Money,
29 Oct. 2025
Noun
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In Shea Carney's house, those beverage bottles and cans eligible for a 10-cent deposit return have become more of a nuisance than a useful income boost.—
Keith Matheny,
Freep.com,
30 Oct. 2025
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Bank lobbyists say these terminals being closed to penny deposits is exacerbating the penny shortage, because parts of the country that may have some surplus pennies are unable to get those pennies to parts of country with shortages.—
Ken Sweet,
Fortune,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
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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
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The new high-pressure acid leaching smelter will produce 66,000 tons of nickel in mixed hydroxide precipitate each year when completed, using nickel ore from Vale Indonesia’s mines.—
Yessar Rosendar,
Forbes.com,
28 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sediment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sediment. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
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