as in sediment
soil made chiefly of loose sedimentary material that is carried by flowing water and that sinks to the bottom of a river, pond, etc.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of silt
Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 19 Apr. 2026
The cemetery overlooks the scenic Loess Hills, created by windblown silt deposits that reach up to 200 feet high (about 61 meters) and line the river along the Iowa border for 200 miles (322 kilometers).
—ABC News, 17 Apr. 2026
Literary Hub, 22 May 2025
All the while, the Guadalquivir River, which allowed ships into Seville, began to silt up, forcing trade southward to the coastal town of Cádiz.
—Walker Mimms, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2023
See All Example Sentences for silt
Noun
The best topsoil is loose and loamy, consisting of equal amounts of sand, silt, and clay.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 19 Apr. 2026
The cemetery overlooks the scenic Loess Hills, created by windblown silt deposits that reach up to 200 feet high (about 61 meters) and line the river along the Iowa border for 200 miles (322 kilometers).
—ABC News, 17 Apr. 2026
Verb
Its primary purpose is not to control people or accumulate power, except perhaps incrementally, in the form of a kind of silting up of canonical importance.
—Literary Hub, 22 May 2025
All the while, the Guadalquivir River, which allowed ships into Seville, began to silt up, forcing trade southward to the coastal town of Cádiz.
—Walker Mimms, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2023
See All Example Sentences for silt
Recent Examples of Synonyms for silt
Noun
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Researchers believe periodic flooding and river overflows helped preserve the eggs by covering them in sediment millions of years ago.—
Toria Sheffield,
PEOPLE,
23 May 2026
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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
Verb
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Purple blossoms furred the redbuds along his driveway; here and there beneath them were sprays of yellow forsythia.—
Jamie Quatro,
Harper's Magazine,
2 Aug. 2024
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The foils can also retract, meaning that the boats aren't at risk of marine growth, which could otherwise fur them up.—
Julia Buckley,
CNN,
28 July 2022
Noun
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What used to be open water was heading towards alluvium, and oblivion.—
Rob Crossan,
Condé Nast Traveler,
24 Mar. 2026
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The tunnel will traverse multiple difficult subsoil layers: a surface of historical and active landfill materials, including spoil from London tunneling projects and decades-old power station fly ash, a thick layer of alluvium composed of silts, clays, and peat, and, finally, highly variable chalk.—
Theo Burman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 July 2025
Verb
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Knicks fans flooded Rocket Arena anyway.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
24 May 2026
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Eisbrenner chose Brownsville for its deepwater access, low vessel traffic, and her conviction that the oil-rich Permian Basin in West Texas would eventually flood the region with excess natural gas.—
Jordan Blum,
Fortune,
24 May 2026
Noun
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Officials said the feature continued downward into the loess beneath the prehistoric site.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
9 Feb. 2026
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Many fatalities were linked to the collapse of yaodongs—homes carved into loess hillsides.—
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Campaign financing, taking money from special interests, leads not only to gridlock but also to an inability for political parties to act in good faith on their constituents’ behalf.—
Linh Tat,
Oc Register,
5 May 2026
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Democrats largely oppose Trump’s efforts to seize more control over elections, and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Trump’s demands would gridlock the chamber.—
Lisa Mascaro,
Twin Cities,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The flood pushed tons of mud into Westernport’s Main Street, swamping businesses and destabilizing the town’s public library.—
Bryan P. Sears,
Baltimore Sun,
23 May 2026
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The intersection of Randol Mill Road and North Collins Street in Arlington is the corner of the northwest side of AT&T Stadium; on game days, it is often swamped with pedestrians, and traffic, as fans navigate entry to the venue.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
22 May 2026
Noun
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The great piles of detritus in the street had completely vanished.—
Amer Matar,
The Dial,
26 May 2026
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Because bananas are made of organic materials, let microorganisms and detritus eaters (like red wiggler composting worms) do their job.—
Haniya Rae,
Martha Stewart,
5 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Silt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/silt. Accessed 30 May. 2026.
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