detritus
noun
\
, -ˈtrī-ˌtüs \
Definition of detritus
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Other Words from detritus
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adjective
Synonyms for detritus
Synonyms
ashes, debris, flotsam, remains, residue, rubble, ruins, wreck, wreckage
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Examples of detritus in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Consider: every time an encampment is cleaned out, or a cluster of tents is removed from a greenway or from under an overpass, the detritus of addiction remains. — Nicole Brodeur, The Seattle Times, "Want to end homelessness? Start with getting people into recovery," 21 Sep. 2018 The tedious and sometimes dangerous work of separating out that detritus at processing plants in China prompted officials there to slash the contaminants limit this year to 0.5%. — Bob Tita, WSJ, "Recycling, Once Embraced by Businesses and Environmentalists, Now Under Siege," 13 May 2018 Returning to 3,000 unread emails is also not an appealing prospect, so five minutes deleting the detritus while the rest of the family is in the shower seems like a reasonable compromise. — The Economist, "Holidays are good for workers and companies alike," 8 Aug. 2019 The agency also contends with bicycle chop shops and other sources of detritus. — Rachel Swan, SFChronicle.com, "Homeless people protest SF collecting their belongings," 22 June 2019 But one day Pacarro spotted something particularly surprising in the beach detritus: a toothbrush. — National Geographic, "How your toothbrush became a part of the plastic crisis," 14 June 2019 Thursday morning’s remnants, the remaining slips of detritus fluttering through Manhattan like modern tumbleweeds, now provide the perfect metaphor. — Jacob Feldman, SI.com, "The 2019 Sports On-Air All-Stars," 11 July 2019 But the hope is that publishing the documentary detritus of the KGB will act as a cautionary tale, preventing any similarly repressive surveillance apparatus from rising again. — Linda Kinstler, The New York Review of Books, "Linda Kinstler," 5 Mar. 2019 Richard Serra, whose family lived a couple of houses away from the di Suveros, in the Sunset District, remembers di Suvero making structures out of driftwood and detritus scavenged from the beach. — Dana Goodyear, The New Yorker, "Will Los Angeles Lose a Beloved Piece of Public Art?," 9 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'detritus.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for detritus
detritus
noun
English Language Learners Definition of detritus
See the full definition for detritus in the English Language Learners Dictionary
detritus
noun
\
, -ˈtrī-ˌtüs
\