fuller's earth

noun

: an earthy substance that consists chiefly of clay mineral but lacks plasticity and that is used as an adsorbent, a filter medium, and a carrier for catalysts

Examples of fuller's earth in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Pointing to a section of the north wall overlooking the river, Sharma said that workers had recently applied the clay mixture known as fuller's earth, traditionally used as a bleaching agent to absorb oil and grease from sheep's wool. —Shashank Bengali, latimes.com, 22 May 2018

Word History

Etymology

fuller entry 1; from its earlier use as fulling agent

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

fuller's earth

noun

full·​er's earth

ˈfu̇l-ərz-

: an earthy substance used for filtering and as an absorbent