sediment

[ noun sed-uh-muhnt; verb sed-uh-ment ]
See synonyms for sediment on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the matter that settles to the bottom of a liquid; lees; dregs.

  2. Geology. mineral or organic matter deposited by water, air, or ice.

verb (used with object)
  1. to deposit as sediment.

verb (used without object)
  1. to form or deposit sediment.

Origin of sediment

1
1540–50; <Latin sedimentum, equivalent to sedi- (combining form of sedēre to sit1, settle) + -mentum-ment

Other words from sediment

  • sed·i·men·tous, adjective
  • self-sed·i·ment·ed, adjective

Words that may be confused with sediment

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

How to use sediment in a sentence

  • Sandy looked down at the contorted, blackened face, and his disappointment at having been forestalled, sedimented down.

    Rimrock Trail | J. Allan Dunn
  • The samples of milk are sedimented in a small centrifuge, and an examination of the sediment made with the microscope.

British Dictionary definitions for sediment

sediment

/ (ˈsɛdɪmənt) /


noun
  1. matter that settles to the bottom of a liquid

  2. material that has been deposited from water, ice, or wind

Origin of sediment

1
C16: from Latin sedimentum a settling, from sedēre to sit

Derived forms of sediment

  • sedimentous (ˌsɛdɪˈmɛntəs), adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for sediment

sediment

[ sĕdə-mənt ]


  1. Geology Solid fragmented material, such as silt, sand, gravel, chemical precipitates, and fossil fragments, that is transported and deposited by water, ice, or wind or that accumulates through chemical precipitation or secretion by organisms, and that forms layers on the Earth's surface. Sedimentary rocks consist of consolidated sediment.

  1. Particles of solid matter that settle out of a suspension to the bottom of the liquid.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.