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activated sludge

 - 4 dictionary results

sludge

[sluhj]
–noun
1. mud, mire, or ooze; slush.
2. a deposit of ooze at the bottom of a body of water.
3. any of various more or less mudlike deposits or mixtures.
4. the sediment in a steam boiler or water tank.
5. broken ice, as on the sea.
6. a mixture of some finely powdered substance and water.
7. sediment deposited during the treatment of sewage.
8. Also called activated sludge. Bacteriology. sewage sediment that contains a heavy growth of microorganisms, resulting from vigorous aeration.
9. a fine, mudlike powder produced by a mining drill.

Origin:
1640–50; var. of dial. slutch, slitch, ME slich slime, wet mud (cf. its deriv. slucched muddy); appar. of expressive orig.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

sludge 
1649, possibly from M.E. slutch "mud, mire," or a variant of slush.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 2sludge
Function: intransitive verb
Inflected Forms: sludged; sludg·ing
: to form sludge sludge —L. K. Altman>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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