1
geology : loose material (such as rock fragments or organic particles) that results directly from disintegration
2
a
: a product of disintegration, destruction, or wearing away : debris
b
: miscellaneous remnants : odds and ends
still picking up detritus from the block party
… sifting through the detritus of his childhood … 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

the detritus of ancient civilizations As he packed, he sifted through the detritus of a failed relationship.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
And while space debris and meteoroids of comparable mass burn up in our atmosphere almost every day, this piece of manufactured orbital detritus is unique. Eric MacK, Forbes.com, 7 May 2025 But if there isn’t enough kelp detritus to go around, urchins can start feeding on the living kelp itself. Byrd Pinkerton, Vox, 1 Apr. 2025 At others, the idle pump jacks stood silent — corroded skeletons at the end of the line, the detritus of another run through the playbook. Mark Olalde, ProPublica, 30 Dec. 2024 Is Trump a secret minimalist, driven to limit the detritus accruing in American houses? Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 9 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for detritus

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French détritus, borrowed from Latin dētrītus, past participle of dēterere "to wear away, impair," from dē- de- + terere "to rub, grind, wear down" — more at trite

First Known Use

1802, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of detritus was in 1802

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Cite this Entry

“Detritus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/detritus. Accessed 1 Jun. 2025.

Kids Definition

detritus

noun
plural detritus
-ˈtrīt-əs,
-ˈtrī-tüs
1
: loose material that results directly from the natural breaking up of rocks
2
: a product of disintegration or wearing away

Medical Definition

detritus

noun
: loose material resulting from disintegration (as of tissue)

More from Merriam-Webster on detritus

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