detritus
noun
Michael Tomasky
Did you know?
If you use detritus in speech, remember to stress the second syllable, as you do in the words arthritis and bronchitis. Once you've mastered its meaning and pronunciation, you’ll find that detritus is a term—originally a geology term referring to loose material, such as broken rock fragments, resulting from disintegration—that can be applied in many situations. After the first hard freeze of fall, gardens are littered with the detritus of summer’s plants and produce: stalks, leaves, vines, and maybe even an abandoned hand trowel. As a flood-swollen river retreats to its banks, it leaves detritus—debris gathered by the raging waters—in its wake. The detritus of civilization may include junkyards and abandoned buildings, while mental detritus may include all kinds of useless trivia. (We’re not saying it qualifies as such, but detritus comes from the Latin root deterere, meaning “to wear away, impair.”)
Did you know?
How Do You Pronounce detritus?
After the first hard freeze of fall, gardens are sadly littered with the detritus of the summer's plants and produce: stalks, leaves, vines, rotted vegetables, and maybe even a hand trowel left behind. As the flooding Mississippi River retreats back to its ordinary course, it leaves detritus behind in its wake, debris gathered from everywhere by the raging waters. The detritus of civilization may include junkyards and abandoned buildings; mental detritus may include all kinds of useless trivia. Notice how this word is pronounced; for some reason, people often try to accent the first syllable rather than the second.
Examples of detritus in a Sentence
Savannah Sobrevilla, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2025
Previous scientific research shows that the detritus left behind after a fire can be laden with toxic compounds and gases, from heavy metals to burned plastics to asbestos.
—Alejandra Borunda, NPR, 19 Jan. 2025
The debates over detritus eventually spilled into academia.
—Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2024
Artifacts had to be carefully parsed from the detritus of war.
—Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for detritus
Cite this Entry
“Detritus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/detritus. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.
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detritus
noun
Medical Definition
detritus
noun
-ˈtrī-ˌtüs
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