silt.

Very fine mineral particles, finer than sand but generally coarser than clay, carried or deposited by water.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• river silt
• a layer of silt
• silt deposits

On the page

The flood left silt across the kitchen garden.

Her steps stirred a cloud of silt from the riverbed.

A gray ribbon of silt marked the receding shoreline.

Usage notes

Primary category: environment. Mass noun in ordinary landscape use; not a synonym for all mud. Mass noun; verb forms, if used separately: silt, silts, silted, silting.