Standard Lemma guide

sediment

noun · verb · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈsɛd.ɪ.mənt/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɛdɪmənt
  • CMU ARPABET: S EH1 D AH0 M AH0 N T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A collection of small particles, particularly dirt, that precipitates from a river or other body of water.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • The Nile delta is composed of sediment that was washed down and deposited at the mouth of the river.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To deposit material as a sediment.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

To be deposited as a sediment.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

matter that has been deposited by some natural process

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: deposit

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: matter

Narrower terms: alluvial sediment, alluvial deposit, alluvium, alluvion, dregs, settlings, lees, salt lick, lick, evaporite

5

verb

Meaning 5

settle as sediment

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: settle, settle down

6

verb

Meaning 6

deposit as a sediment

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: situate, fix, posit, deposit

History

Etymology

From Middle French sédiment, from Latin sedimentum < sedeō.

Across languages

Translations

75 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: afsaksel — collection of small particles
  • Afrikaans: dregs — collection of small particles
  • Arabic: رَاسِب (rāsib) — collection of small particles
  • Armenian: մրուր (mrur) — collection of small particles
  • Bulgarian: ута́йка (utájka) — collection of small particles
  • Catalan: sediment — collection of small particles
  • Chinese Mandarin: 沉積物 /沉积物 (chénjīwù) — collection of small particles
  • Chinese Mandarin: 沉積 /沉积 (chénjī) — collection of small particles
  • Czech: usazenina — collection of small particles
  • Esperanto: feĉo — collection of small particles
  • Finnish: sedimentti — collection of small particles
  • Finnish: kerrostuma — collection of small particles
  • French: sédiment — collection of small particles
  • Galician: sedimento — collection of small particles
  • Georgian: დანალექი (danaleki) — collection of small particles
  • Georgian: ნალექი (naleki) — collection of small particles
  • German: Sediment — collection of small particles
  • German: Satz — collection of small particles
  • German: Bodensatz — collection of small particles
  • Ancient Greek: τρύξ (trúx) — collection of small particles
  • Hindi: गाद (gād) — collection of small particles
  • Hindi: तलछट (talchaṭ) — collection of small particles
  • Icelandic: botnfall — collection of small particles
  • Icelandic: syrja — collection of small particles
  • Icelandic: botnlag — collection of small particles
  • Icelandic: dreggjar — collection of small particles
  • Icelandic: set — collection of small particles
  • Icelandic: vatnborin jarðvegsefni — collection of small particles
  • Icelandic: vindborin jarðvegsefni — collection of small particles
  • Indonesian: sedimen — collection of small particles
  • Irish: dríodar — collection of small particles
  • Italian: deposito — collection of small particles
  • Italian: sedimento — collection of small particles
  • Japanese: 堆積物 (taisekibutsu) — collection of small particles
  • Khmer: ដីល្បាប់ (dəylbap) — collection of small particles
  • Latin: faex — collection of small particles
  • Latin: sedimen — collection of small particles
  • Macedonian: талог (talog) — collection of small particles
  • Māori: waipara — collection of small particles
  • Māori: parakiwai — collection of small particles
  • Mongolian: тунадас (tunadas) — collection of small particles
  • Norwegian Bokmål: sediment — collection of small particles
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: sediment — collection of small particles
  • Polish: osad — collection of small particles
  • Portuguese: sedimento — collection of small particles
  • Russian: отложе́ние (otložénije) — collection of small particles
  • Russian: оса́док (osádok) — collection of small particles
  • Russian: отсто́й (otstój) — collection of small particles
  • Serbo-Croatian: талог — collection of small particles
  • Serbo-Croatian: talog — collection of small particles
  • Spanish: sedimento — collection of small particles
  • Tagalog: tining — collection of small particles
  • Thai: ตะกอน (takon) — collection of small particles
  • Ottoman Turkish: تلوه (telve) — collection of small particles
  • Ukrainian: о́сад (ósad) — collection of small particles
  • Vietnamese: trầm tích — collection of small particles
  • Welsh: gwaddod — collection of small particles
  • Welsh: dyddodion — collection of small particles
  • Bulgarian: утаявам (utajavam) — to deposit material as a sediment
  • Chinese Mandarin: 沉澱 /沉淀 (chéndiàn) — to deposit material as a sediment
  • Esperanto: sedimentigi — to deposit material as a sediment
  • Finnish: sedimentoida — to deposit material as a sediment
  • French: sédimenter — to deposit material as a sediment
  • Hindi: गाद (gād) — to deposit material as a sediment
  • Mongolian: тунаах (tunaax) — to deposit material as a sediment
  • Russian: осажда́ть (osaždátʹ) — to deposit material as a sediment
  • Spanish: sedimentar — to deposit material as a sediment
  • Bulgarian: утаявам се (utajavam se) — to be deposited as a sediment
  • Dutch: sedimenteren — to be deposited as a sediment
  • Esperanto: sedimentiĝi — to be deposited as a sediment
  • Finnish: sedimentoitua — to be deposited as a sediment
  • French: sédimenter — to be deposited as a sediment
  • Mongolian: тунах (tunax) — to be deposited as a sediment
  • Russian: осажда́ться (osaždátʹsja) — to be deposited as a sediment
  • Spanish: sedimentar — to be deposited as a sediment
Real reading context

sediment in complete knowledge articles