detritus
pronunciation
How to pronounce detritus in British English:
UK [dɪˈtraɪtəs]
How to pronounce detritus in American English:
US [dɪˈtraɪtəs]
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- Noun:
- the remains of something that has been destroyed or broken up
- loose material (stone fragments and silt etc) that is worn away from rocks
Word Origin
- detritus (n.)
- 1795, "process of erosion," from Latin detritus "a wearing away," from detri-, stem of detere "wear away" (see detriment). Geological sense of "matter produced by erosion" is 1802, probably from French detritus; incorrect, in any case.
Example
- 1. The characters suffocate , are stabbed to death , die crushed by the detritus of the world .
- 2. Chinese media said cranes were excavating the sites as children cried for help from beneath the detritus and as ambulances waited together with frantic parents .
- 3. Pictures showed barges covered in detritus and workers sorting through a mess of bottles , branches and styrofoam .
- 4. Like early natural history museums , which collected the detritus of phenomena both fascinating and only vaguely understood , the museum of jurassic technology is a celebration of the fruits of hungry , curious minds .