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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of silt
Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica, 22 Dec. 2022
Throws that made octo-contact were also more likely to be accomplished with a specific set of arms, and the projectile was more likely to be silt.
—Emma Marris, Scientific American, 10 Nov. 2022
Taylor O'Connor, Kansas City Star, 5 Sep. 2025
But after weeks of staring at bare ground, a few green shoots pushed through the dark silt.
—Lila Hempel-Edgers, Charlotte Observer, 2 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for silt
Noun
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
Throws that made octo-contact were also more likely to be accomplished with a specific set of arms, and the projectile was more likely to be silt.
—Emma Marris, Scientific American, 10 Nov. 2022
Verb
The flood left a silt dirt behind, which can be home to these tiny flies that lay their eggs in organic matter typically found in sewer or piping systems.
—Taylor O'Connor, Kansas City Star, 5 Sep. 2025
But after weeks of staring at bare ground, a few green shoots pushed through the dark silt.
—Lila Hempel-Edgers, Charlotte Observer, 2 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for silt
Recent Examples of Synonyms for silt
Noun
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In a new study published in Antiquity, researchers from Cambridge and Nottingham examined a 16-feet sediment core from Aldborough in Yorkshire, an important center of metal production located at a former Roman tribal town of Brigantes.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Sep. 2025
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Direct dating Paleontologists often estimate the age of plant and animal fossils based on sediments where the organic material was preserved.—
Mindy Weisberger,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
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 Hortmans’ assassination received a flurry of coverage over the strange circumstances under which it was carried out, with pictures of Boelter in his silicone mask initially flooding social media.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
16 Sep. 2025
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The United States is flooded with nearly half a billion guns, and the stockpile does not vanish just because the murder rate dips.—
John J. Donohue,
Time,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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When blown by the wind, these sediments are referred to as loess.—
Joseph V Micallef,
Forbes,
2 Sep. 2021
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The windblown loess soil comprises freshwater sedimentary topsoil resting over fractured basalt subsoil.—
Michael Alberty | For The Oregonian/OregonLive,
oregonlive,
4 June 2020
Verb
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Waiting until the last minute can lead to gridlock on the road for you and obstruct first responders trying to get to the active fire zone.—
Karen Garcia,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Mar. 2025
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While the state Assembly derailed that initial plan, forfeiting the grant, the push for a practical remedy to gridlock never died.—
DJ Gribbin,
New York Daily News,
7 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Day four felt like a call-to-action that challenged long-standing Eurocentric beauty ideals that have swamped the fashion industry.—
Essence,
Essence,
16 Sep. 2025
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My smuggling vessel thrashed violently back and forth, swamped to the point of sinking, with the bilge pumps set to overdrive.—
Martin Suarez,
Rolling Stone,
13 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The avalanche temporarily dammed the Lonza River, which runs through Blatten, and small lakes, filled with dead trees and detritus from homes, formed on each side of the village.—
Daniel A. Gross,
New Yorker,
27 Aug. 2025
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But its detritus remains, giving rise to streaks that wow sky watchers every August.—
Clara Moskowitz,
Scientific American,
11 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Silt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/silt. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
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