2
: a muddy or slushy mass, deposit, or sediment: such as
a
: precipitated solid matter produced by water and sewage treatment processes
b
: muddy sediment in a steam boiler
c
: a precipitate or settling (such as a mixture of impurities and acid) from a mineral oil
3
Examples of sludge in a Sentence
after a day of heavy rain, the fairgrounds had turned into pure sludge
I can't bring myself to read that sludge.
Recent Examples on the Web
The 29-year-old has arrived at Rolling Stone’s office in distressed cutoff denim shorts and custom boots self-designed to look like she’s been trekking through sludge à la Kate Moss at Glastonbury 2005.
—
Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 17 June 2026
In many cases, the blockage comes from sludge in the line, which can sometimes be cleared with a simple flush of water or with a wet/dry vac at the exterior drain outlet.
—Caroline Lubinsky, Martha Stewart, 15 June 2026
Every bucket, every rebound, every screen oozed difficulty, as if each player was covered in sludge.
—Chris Branch, New York Times, 4 June 2026
The backlash was so extensive, Gutierrez ended up backtracking on the lucrative gig entirely, in one of the clearest signs yet that AI has become toxic sludge to much of the audience Amazon is trying to woo.
—Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 3 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for sludge
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Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 17 June 2026
In many cases, the blockage comes from sludge in the line, which can sometimes be cleared with a simple flush of water or with a wet/dry vac at the exterior drain outlet.
—Caroline Lubinsky, Martha Stewart, 15 June 2026
Every bucket, every rebound, every screen oozed difficulty, as if each player was covered in sludge.
—Chris Branch, New York Times, 4 June 2026
The backlash was so extensive, Gutierrez ended up backtracking on the lucrative gig entirely, in one of the clearest signs yet that AI has become toxic sludge to much of the audience Amazon is trying to woo.
—Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 3 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for sludge
Cite this Entry
“Sludge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sludge. Accessed 21 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Medical Definition
sludge
1 of 2 noun
: a semisolid precipitated mass or deposit
biliary sludge
especially
: sludged blood
sludge
2 of 2 intransitive verb
sludged; sludging
: to form sludge
positions that cause blood to sludge—L. K. Altman
L. K. AltmanLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
