detritus

noun

de·tri·tus di-ˈtrī-təs

plural detritus di-ˈtrī-təs

-ˈtrī-ˌtüs

Synonyms of detritus

geology : loose material (such as rock fragments or organic particles) that results directly from disintegration

: a product of disintegration, destruction, or wearing away : debris

: miscellaneous remnants : odds and ends

still picking up detritus from the block party

… sifting through the detritus of his childhood …—Michael Tomasky

detrital

di-ˈtrī-tᵊl

adjective

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.

In some ways, archival research has always demanded sorting through verbal and visual detritus and working around unexpected gaps in records. —Michael Waters, The Atlantic, 4 June 2025 But wise, connected AI development and use can serve as a vein of gold through the detritus of disruption and destruction of coming years, manifesting the priceless role of humanity in the evolution of consciousness. —Ginny Whitelaw, Forbes.com, 1 June 2025 Belonging to no one exactly, of debatable worth, and kept company by a neighborhood lifer and his detritus: perhaps a fitting end for the bust that ignited a fight over the soul of downtown. —Hannah Jocelyn, The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2025 Hundreds of workers from the Indian city of Cooch Behar lug steel girders into the concrete shells of what will be dormitories, as a leaf blower removes detritus from an artificial-turf soccer pitch. —By Charlie Campbell/gelephu, Bhutan, TIME, 16 Jan. 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

See more words from the same year