debris

or dé·bris

[ duh-bree, dey-bree or, especially British, deb-ree ]
See synonyms for: debrisdebrises on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. the remains of anything broken down or destroyed; ruins; rubble: the debris of buildings after an air raid.

  2. Geology. an accumulation of loose fragments of rock.

Origin of debris

1
First recorded in 1700–10; from French débris, Middle French debris, derivative of debriser “to break up (into pieces),” Old French debrisier, from de- de- + brisier “to break” (see bruise)

Other words for debris

Words Nearby debris

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use debris in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for debris

debris

dbris

/ (ˈdeɪbrɪ, ˈdɛbrɪ) /


noun
  1. fragments or remnants of something destroyed or broken; rubble

  2. a collection of loose material derived from rocks, or an accumulation of animal or vegetable matter

Origin of debris

1
C18: from French, from obsolete debrisier to break into pieces, from bruisier to shatter, of Celtic origin

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