as in sediment
soil made chiefly of loose sedimentary material that is carried by flowing water and that sinks to the bottom of a river, pond, etc.
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as in to fur
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of silt
Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 9 Feb. 2026
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
Walker Mimms, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2023
Cathedral-like sandstone canyons were resurrected, and sunlight reached the silt-clogged floors for the first time in generations.
—Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica, 22 Dec. 2022
See All Example Sentences for silt
Noun
Over centuries, silt gradually pushed the shoreline further away, contributing to Ephesus’ abandonment by the time of the Ottoman era in the 15th century.
—Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 9 Feb. 2026
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
Verb
All the while, the Guadalquivir River, which allowed ships into Seville, began to silt up, forcing trade southward to the coastal town of Cádiz.
—Walker Mimms, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2023
Cathedral-like sandstone canyons were resurrected, and sunlight reached the silt-clogged floors for the first time in generations.
—Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica, 22 Dec. 2022
See All Example Sentences for silt
Recent Examples of Synonyms for silt
Noun
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Less than a mile away, the corps is planning to deepen and widen the shipping channel leading into Port Everglades, blasting through the reef line and dredging up sediment that could smother acres of surrounding coral, according to federal scientists.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
8 Mar. 2026
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However, Little Foot’s skull, which became crushed as surrounding cave sediment grew heavier and shifted over time, has been difficult to study.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
7 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Purple blossoms furred the redbuds along his driveway; here and there beneath them were sprays of yellow forsythia.—
Jamie Quatro,
Harper's Magazine,
2 Aug. 2024
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The foils can also retract, meaning that the boats aren't at risk of marine growth, which could otherwise fur them up.—
Julia Buckley,
CNN,
28 July 2022
Noun
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The tunnel will traverse multiple difficult subsoil layers: a surface of historical and active landfill materials, including spoil from London tunneling projects and decades-old power station fly ash, a thick layer of alluvium composed of silts, clays, and peat, and, finally, highly variable chalk.—
Theo Burman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 July 2025
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At some point, alluvium buried the entire tusk, possibly from major storm flooding.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
14 Aug. 2024
Verb
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The Hall of Fame coach flooded the playbook with postups – many seeing Green throw the entry pass – against an undersized Oklahoma City front line.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
8 Mar. 2026
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Large hail, damaging winds, flooding rainfall and an elevated, non-zero threat for tornadoes will be possible.—
Lauren Bostwick,
CBS News,
8 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Officials said the feature continued downward into the loess beneath the prehistoric site.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
9 Feb. 2026
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Many fatalities were linked to the collapse of yaodongs—homes carved into loess hillsides.—
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Such a shift would likely gridlock Washington, effectively ending the prospects for further fiscal stimulus before the 2028 presidential election.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
9 Feb. 2026
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Waymo's vehicles contributed to gridlock during storms and widespread power outages in San Francisco last month.—
Lora Kolodny,
CNBC,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Twenty-five girls, two counselors and Camp Mystic's owner were killed in the historic flooding in Kerr County that swamped the camp.—
Marlene Lenthang,
NBC news,
5 Mar. 2026
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But if disaster does strike and AI guts software revenues, creditors holding the high ground are in far better shape than the equityholders at sea level, who will be swamped.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
3 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Many of us expected a great contextualizing flood of plays and films about isolation and lockdowns and Zooms and the other detritus of the era.—
Chris Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Mar. 2026
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Mattresses and questionably clean bedding were dredged up, dusty couches cleared of detritus.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Silt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/silt. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
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