sludge
Americannoun
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mud, mire, or ooze; slush.
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a deposit of ooze at the bottom of a body of water.
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any of various more or less mudlike deposits or mixtures.
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the sediment in a steam boiler or water tank.
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broken ice, as on the sea.
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a mixture of some finely powdered substance and water.
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sediment deposited during the treatment of sewage.
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Also called activated sludge. Bacteriology. sewage sediment that contains a heavy growth of microorganisms, resulting from vigorous aeration.
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a fine, mudlike powder produced by a mining drill.
noun
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soft mud, snow, etc
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any deposit or sediment
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a surface layer of ice that has a slushy appearance
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(in sewage disposal) the solid constituents of sewage that precipitate during treatment and are removed for subsequent purification
Other Word Forms
- de-sludge verb (used with object)
Etymology
Origin of sludge
First recorded in 1640–50; variant of dialectal slutch, slitch, Middle English slich “slime, wet mud” (compare its derivative slucched “muddy”); apparently of expressive origin
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In the city of Uba, a two-hour drive away, residents were covered in mud as they cleared sludge from a river that had burst its banks.
From Barron's
“You must be hungry, seeing as you were trying to eat those apples. Have some sludge.”
From Literature
While the tariff sludge remains, markets digested mixed economic data.
From Barron's
While the tariff sludge remains, markets digested mixed economic data.
From Barron's
Describing the sludge and silt in the tunnel area where Noah's body was eventually found, close to the M2 motorway, he said it "just sucks your feet under" in "absolutely freezing" conditions.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
