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sand

sand

485 1.0
Small loose grains of rock that cover beaches, deserts, and riverbeds
  • noun
  • /sænd/
translation icon : arena
  • He ran his fingers through the warm, golden sand as he relaxed on the shore.
  • beach sand
  • sand dune
  • sand and gravel

And there's no footprints in the sand, or so it seems.

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Examples

  • The children built a large sandcastle on the beach using wet sand.

  • Just you and me barefoot in the sand.

  • It's like the most perfect sand you ever did see.

  • So it's really good to keep the sand out of the drain.

  • I'm choosing the sand color right here.

  • So it's going to form sand, silt and clay.

  • They build their houses with sand and they play with empty shells.

  • The bottom was 500 tons of USGA-quality sand used as a fine drainage layer.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Boundless and bare, the lone level sands stretch far away.

  • The beach at Pisa 2 is now evolving as a mixed sand-and-gravel beach.

    Academic text (2008)

Idioms

To set a clear limit that must not be crossed

To ignore a problem instead of dealing with it

to pound sand
  • Offensive
2 9.9

Tell someone to go away in a rude way

to build on sand
  • Informal
1 7.6

To base a plan or belief on a weak foundation that will likely fail

To try to do something that cannot be done

Compounds

14 3.2

A hill of sand that wind makes near a beach or in a desert

6 3.3

A shallow pit filled with sand that makes golf shots harder

sand wedge
  • Specialized
2 4.1

A golf club with a heavy angled head used to lift a ball out of sand

2 6.6

A small insect that bites people in warm places and can spread disease

1 7.2

A picture made by arranging fine colored sand on a flat surface

1 5.4

A small jumping animal like a tiny flea that lives on sandy beaches

1 5.6

A flat round sea animal with a hard shell that lives on sandy sea floors

1 8.2

A large shark with sharp jagged teeth that lives in shallow water near the coast

1 6.1

A small thin fish that looks like an eel and buries itself in sand near the shore

1 8.4

A small flat fish like a flounder from the west coast of North America eaten as food

1 8.6

A small animal like a mouse that lives in holes in the desert

1 6.7

A shark with sharp jagged teeth that lives in shallow water near the coast

A low plant with groups of pink or white flowers that grows on sandy coasts

coarse-grained sand
  • Specialized
3.7

A type of sand with large rough grains used for building, gardening, or sports surfaces

A small desert plant with sticky leaves and bright pink trumpet flowers

A small snake with dark and light rings that moves through sand in the southwestern United States

quartz sand
  • Specialized
3.6

A type of sand made mostly of small hard clear rock grains used to make glass

rope of sand
  • Informal
9.9

Something that looks strong but is weak and cannot be trusted

A low plant with clusters of deep pink or white flowers that grows on sandy areas near the sea

sand badger
  • Philippine
9.9

A small animal with a pig-like snout that lives in sandy places and digs for insects

3.1

A long narrow strip of sand in water that shows above the water

8.6

A small wild cat that lives in hot, dry deserts and has thick fur on its paws

9.2

A small shrub in North America that grows in sandy soil and has small dark fruit not good to eat

sand crack
  • Specialized
9.8

A vertical crack in a horse's hoof that can cause pain

9.2

A low evergreen bush with small white flowers, red berries, and leaves that turn red in autumn

A stiff bush that makes blackberries and grows in sandy soil in the eastern United States

9.9

A large wingless grasshopper that digs holes in loose sand at night

9.4

A pigeon-like bird with long pointed wings that lives in dry desert areas

A small beach animal that jumps like a flea

A plant with claw-shaped seed pods that grows in sandy soil

sand dollar
  • Neologism
6.8

Digital money issued by the Central Bank of The Bahamas and used as legal money in the Bahamas

sand dropseed
  • Specialized
8.6

A smooth grass that grows in sandy places in eastern North America

A small silvery fish that swims in schools and burrows into sand

9.9

Very small thin silver fish that burrows into sandy beaches and forms schools

9.0

A low plant that forms a mat on rocky ground with small pink flowers

9.4

A coastal plant with long leaves that helps hold sand dunes

8.8

A small bush with silver leaves that grows on dry grasslands

9.3

A grass-like plant that grows in sandy places like coastal dunes and helps hold the sand

8.2

A European plant related to onions that people grow for its edible stems and leaves used in cooking

A small lizard with sandy colour that lives in dry, sandy areas

7.0

A small swallow that migrates, nests in holes in sandy riverbanks and eats insects

9.9

A low evergreen shrub with small white star-shaped flowers and shiny leaves

8.6

A small snake that lives in sandy places and hides under loose sand

sand tumor
  • Specialized
9.5

A growth in the coverings or inner parts of the brain that contains sandlike particles

9.9

A small plant with groups of bright flowers that grows in sandy areas of western North America and Mexico

8.9

A harmless North American snake with an upturned nose that flattens its head and sometimes plays dead when scared

A highly venomous viper from northern Africa and southwestern Asia with a small horn above each eye

6.3

A flat fish that lives on the Pacific coast of North America with sandy colouring

9.9

A small low-growing weed with tiny pink flowers that grows on sandy ground

A small pale fish with eyes on stalks that buries itself in sand to ambush prey

1.0

A small object children use to play with sand, like a bucket or shovel

sand-lime brick
  • Specialized
6.7

A type of brick made from sand and lime used for building

A plant that has sweet-smelling flowers and grows in sandy places like deserts

A small bush that makes sweet red, black, or yellow fruits you can eat

A plant on sand dunes with round clusters of yellow, trumpet-shaped flowers

How Coarse

gravel
99 1.4
coarse-grained sand
  • Specialized
3.7
sand
485 1.0
silt
18 3.7

Surface Forms

sand singular
sands plural

Etymology

Sand is a very old word used in many languages for the small grains you find on beaches and in deserts, which is why we also see it in simple words like sandcastle and sandpaper.