loess

noun

Definition of loessnext
as in alluvium

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of loess When the tunnel was first dug, the ice held the loess in place. — Madeline Ostrander, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 May 2020 When blown by the wind, these sediments are referred to as loess. — Joseph V Micallef, Forbes, 2 Sep. 2021 The death toll was so high partly because many people lived in cave dwellings carved into soft loess soil. — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 15 June 2026 Many fatalities were linked to the collapse of yaodongs—homes carved into loess hillsides. — Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025 Officials said the feature continued downward into the loess beneath the prehistoric site. — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 9 Feb. 2026 The Rhône's predominantly granite soils versus Walla Walla's basalt bedrock, riverbed cobbles, and windblown loess. — Paul Caputo, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for loess
  1. alluvium
  2. sediment
  3. silt
  4. marl
  5. clay
  6. detritus
  7. mud
  8. shingle
Noun
  • What used to be open water was heading towards alluvium, and oblivion.
    — Rob Crossan, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Mar. 2026
  • At some point, alluvium buried the entire tusk, possibly from major storm flooding.
    — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 14 Aug. 2024
Definition of alluvium
Noun
  • At Walhalla Glades, the carbon instead sat within silicate-rich sediment.
    — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 4 July 2026
  • The results showed that even after weeks of biological growth and sediment buildup, which heavily obscured the test targets, the system successfully identified every single weapon.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 3 July 2026
Definition of sediment
Noun
  • The valley floor is silt and loess left by the ice-age Missoula Floods, the glacial-lake megafloods that repeatedly drowned the region.
    — Paul Caputo, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
  • The Hansen Dam Aquatic Center pool was constructed in 1999 in a $15-million project to replace a previous pool in the area that was filled with silt.
    — Dante Estrada, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2026
Definition of silt
Noun
  • Freshman Ben Smith became the first NCAA outdoor champion for Oregon in the shot put since Dean Crouser (1982) with a marl of 69-0 1/2.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 11 June 2026
  • Its striking blue-green hues and clarity—allowing visibility of 20 to 30 feet—are due to minimal organic runoff and calcium-rich marl sediment from its glacial origins.
    — Taryn White, Travel + Leisure, 21 May 2026
Definition of marl
Noun
  • The importance of falling well has only grown as players have adapted movement patterns from clay and hard courts to grass.
    — Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 3 July 2026
  • That meant ditching some of the traditional tools used in vehicle design, like the clay models used by car designers since the 1930s.
    — Andrew Staples, Fortune, 3 July 2026
Definition of clay
Noun
  • Based on carbon dating and artifacts, detritus and animal remains found at the site, Carr and others concluded the circle had likely been the foundation for a wooden ceremonial building dating back around 2,000 years.
    — Andres Viglucci, Miami Herald, 30 June 2026
  • Rather, our solar system is a celestial shooting gallery, chock-full of flying projectiles—not just meteoroids but larger bodies, such as comets, asteroids, and other cosmic detritus—and Earth is right in the firing line.
    — Govert Schilling, Scientific American, 27 June 2026
Definition of detritus
Noun
  • Doing this reportedly required understanding the molecular structure of mud.
    — Mack DeGeurin, Popular Science, 2 July 2026
  • The pigs that would soon enough become lunch lazed in the compost-pile mud in front of a five-star-hotel-worthy view of the Cretan Sea.
    — Shannon McMahon, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 July 2026
Definition of mud
Noun
  • Millar likened the dynamic to the annual flu vaccine or shingles shot for older adults.
    — Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 28 June 2026
  • The photographer Richard Avedon entertained a lot of interest in his home in Montauk, a modest cedar-shingle house sitting on eight acres of land overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
    — Wendy Goodman, Curbed, 27 June 2026
Definition of shingle

Browse Nearby Words

lodgments
loess
loesses
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Loess.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/loess. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on loess

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about loess

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All