moraine

noun

mo·​raine mə-ˈrān How to pronounce moraine (audio)
: an accumulation of earth and stones carried and finally deposited by a glacier
morainal adjective
morainic adjective

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web The Perros Glacier is unique and worth spending some time taking in from the lookout around the corner from the moraine if the weather's good. Cassidy Randall, Travel + Leisure, 5 Mar. 2023 Like Long Island, these are remnants of the rubble pile, or terminal moraine, pushed up by the ice sheet. Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 30 Apr. 2014 Ground-penetrating radar determined that Imja Lake is held there by a very fragile moraine. Alton Byers, Discover Magazine, 21 May 2013 The moraine acts as a dam, stopping the water from spilling into the valley below. Sarah Kaplan, Anchorage Daily News, 30 Aug. 2022 Standing on the ice, Medrzycka noticed a pattern in the moraine -- the debris bank that generally runs along the top of the glacier. Julia Buckley, CNN, 4 Nov. 2022 Perhaps the most telling image is a tight closeup through the mouth of a trash can, where a newspaper is partially visible beneath a moraine of cigarette butts and a crushed can of sugar-free Red Bull. Max Norman, The New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2022 Landscapes around the building will be designed to resemble those of a glacial moraine, where vegetation takes root on contours smoothed by receding ice. Steven Litt, cleveland, 9 Jan. 2022 The small island, measuring roughly 30 meters across and a peak of about three metres, consists of seabed mud as well as moraine -- soil and rock left behind by moving glaciers. CNN, 28 Aug. 2021 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'moraine.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

French, from French dialect (Savoy) morêna

First Known Use

1783, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of moraine was in 1783

Dictionary Entries Near moraine

Cite this Entry

“Moraine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/moraine. Accessed 26 Mar. 2023.

Kids Definition

moraine

noun
mo·​raine mə-ˈrān How to pronounce moraine (audio)
: a pile of earth and stones carried and deposited by a glacier

More from Merriam-Webster on moraine

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