Detritus - English meaning

noun

The husks of corn or other seed separated by winnowing or threshing.

Usage examples:

Spikes were threshed and florets (hereafter called seeds) separated from chaff by sieving and force…

verb

Tease.

Usage examples:

The pleasures of drinking and betting and chaffing your mates

noun

The outer layer that is separated from grains such as wheat before they are used as food

Usage examples:

Scientists chaffed at the restriction, saying it would slow down crucial medical research., local r…

noun

Scattered pieces of rubbish or remains.

Usage examples:

Workmen were clearing the roads of the debris from shattered buildings

noun

Broken or torn pieces left from the destruction of something larger

Usage examples:

After the tornado, debris from damaged trees and houses littered the town.

plural noun

The remnants of a liquid left in a container, together with any sediment.

Usage examples:

Coffee dregs

plural noun

Small, solid pieces that sink to the bottom of a liquid

Usage examples:

Coffee dregs, the dregs of society

noun

Something regarded as worthless; rubbish.

Usage examples:

There are bargains if you have the patience to sift through the dross

noun

Something that has no use or no value

Usage examples:

So much of what's on tv is pure dross., we read all the manuscripts but 95 percent are dross.

noun

A small part broken off or separated from something.

Usage examples:

Small fragments of pottery

verb

Break or cause to break into fragments.

Usage examples:

Lough erne fragmented into a series of lakes

noun

A small piece or part, esp. one that is broken off of something

Usage examples:

A bone fragment, a fragment of indian pottery, she read a fragment of the story.

plural noun

Things that have been left as worthless.

Usage examples:

She dropped her lunch leavings into a bin

noun

The things that a person or an animal leaves when they have finished doing something

Usage examples:

The leavings from the grinding of seeds and grain will be checked for starch and protein content., …

noun

Rubbish such as paper, cans, and bottles left lying in an open or public place.

Usage examples:

Always clear up after a picnic and never drop litter

verb

Make (a place or area) untidy with rubbish or a large number of objects left lying about.

Usage examples:

Clothes and newspapers littered the floor

noun

Pieces of paper and other small objects that have been thrown out and are left on the ground in public places

Usage examples:

The park was littered with bottles and soda cans after the concert.

verb

Move in a slow, heavy, awkward way.

Usage examples:

A truck lumbered past

noun

Articles of furniture or other household items that are no longer useful and inconveniently take up storage space.

Usage examples:

A lumber room

verb

Burden (someone) with something unwanted.

Usage examples:

The banks do not want to be lumbered with a building that they cannot sell

preposition

Short for of, used to represent a pronunciation.

Usage examples:

A cup o' coffee

abbreviation

Ortho-.

Usage examples:

O -xylene

suffix

Forming chiefly informal or slang variants or derivatives such as beano, wino.

verb

Indicate or show that one is not willing to do something.

Usage examples:

I refused to answer

noun

Matter thrown away or rejected as worthless; rubbish.

Usage examples:

Heaps of refuse

verb

Continue to exist, especially after other similar people or things have ceased to do so.

Usage examples:

A cloister is all that remains of the monastery

plural noun

The parts left over after other parts have been removed, used, or destroyed.

Usage examples:

The remains of a sandwich lunch were on the table

noun

A part or quantity that is left after the greater part has been used, removed, or destroyed.

Usage examples:

The bogs are an endangered remnant of a primeval landscape

adjective

Remaining.

Usage examples:

Remnant strands of hair

noun

Waste or rough fragments of stone, brick, concrete, etc., especially as the debris from the demolition of buildings.

Usage examples:

Two buildings collapsed, trapping scores of people in the rubble

noun

Broken wood, stones, bricks, etc., that are left when a building falls down or is destroyed

noun

A small piece or amount of something, especially one that is left over after the greater part has been used.

Usage examples:

I scribbled her address on a scrap of paper

verb

Discard or remove from service (a redundant, old, or inoperative vehicle, vessel, or machine), especially so as to convert it to scrap metal.

Usage examples:

A bold decision was taken to scrap existing plant

verb

Engage in a minor fight or quarrel.

Usage examples:

The older boys started scrapping with me

noun

A small piece or amount of something, especially one that is left over after the greater part has been used.

Usage examples:

I scribbled her address on a scrap of paper

verb

Discard or remove from service (a redundant, old, or inoperative vehicle, vessel, or machine), especially so as to convert it to scrap metal.

Usage examples:

A bold decision was taken to scrap existing plant

verb

Engage in a minor fight or quarrel.

Usage examples:

The older boys started scrapping with me

noun

A layer of dirt or froth on the surface of a liquid.

Usage examples:

Green scum found on stagnant pools

verb

Form a layer of dirt or froth on (a liquid).

Usage examples:

Litter scummed the surface of the water

noun

The action or process of spoiling, especially the deterioration of food and other perishable goods.

Usage examples:

The job is generally done on the last or second-to-last day of setup to avoid smelly food spoilage.

noun

Dirt or refuse collected by sweeping.

Usage examples:

The sweepings from the house

adjective

Extending or performed in a long, continuous curve.

Usage examples:

Sweeping, desolate moorlands

adjective

Wide in range or effect.

Usage examples:

We cannot recommend any sweeping alterations

verb

Use or expend carelessly, extravagantly, or to no purpose.

Usage examples:

We can't afford to waste electricity

adjective

(of a material, substance, or by-product) eliminated or discarded as no longer useful or required after the completion of a process.

Usage examples:

Ensure that waste materials are disposed of responsibly

noun

An act or instance of using or expending something carelessly, extravagantly, or to no purpose.

Usage examples:

It's a waste of time trying to argue with him

noun

The remains of something that has been badly damaged or destroyed.

Usage examples:

Firemen had to cut him free from the wreckage of the car

noun

What is left of something badly damaged

Usage examples:

Safety experts were studying the wreckage to find out what caused the crash.

noun

A situation in which something has been badly damaged or destroyed

Usage examples:

The bank's directors should not be allowed to walk away from the financial wreckage they created., …