Sediment is the accumulation of sand and dirt that settles in the bottom of lakes. Sediment is also what you get in the bottom of a glass of iced tea when the sugar doesn’t all dissolve.
- Pronunciation: /ˈsedɪmənt/
- English Description: solid substances that settle at the bottom of a liquid
- Chinese Translation: 沉淀物(Chen2 Dian4 Wu4)
- Spanish Translation: Sedimento
- STORY: The noun sediment comes from the Latin word sedere, meaning “to settle,” or “sit.” Sediment is the little bits of solids that sink to the bottom of a container of liquid, whether that container is a body of water or a holding tank at a sewage treatment plant. Millions of years ago, lakes dried up and glaciers compressed their sediment. In this sedimentary rock, fossils are found, giving us clues about prehistoric life.
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
- Environmental DNA has been used for about a decade to detect microorganisms in soils and sediments. US News Mar 3, 2015
- There was heavy brown sediment in the bottom of the bottle.