noun / verb
silt
SILT/sɪlt/
Fine sediment carried or deposited by water, or its buildup.
Fine silt accumulates where the river slows near the bank.
Etymology
Silt probably has a Scandinavian source, though Low German or Dutch is also possible. It first meant sediment deposited by seawater, then broadened to mud or fine soil deposited by water generally.
In context
… Mountain streams spill into this still water and dump ton after ton of fine sediment. The lake chokes with silt …
More examples
- The river deposited silt across the floodplain.
- The channel slowly silted up.
- Fine silt clouded the water.
Forms
silt · silts · silted · silting
Similar words
- sediment
- Sediment is the broad deposited material; silt is a fine particle-size class.
- clay
- Clay has finer particles than silt and behaves differently when wet.