silty Meaning & Definition
What Does Silty Mean?
Silty is used as a noun meaning loose sedimentary material with rock particles usually 1/20 millimeter or less in diameter. It is also used to mean soil containing 80 percent or more of such silt and less than 12 percent of clay.
Silty at a Glance
| Part of speech | noun |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈsilt/ |
| Syllables | 1 |
| Synonyms | loose |
Silty Definition (Noun)
- loose sedimentary material with rock particles usually 1/20 millimeter or less in diameter
- soil containing 80 percent or more of such silt and less than 12 percent of clay
- a deposit of sediment (as by a river)
Synonyms of Silty
Silty synonyms and antonyms →Antonyms of Silty
No antonyms or near antonyms are listed by the available sources for this entry.
Silty in a Sentence
The silty river needed its channel dredged periodically to remain navigable.
Word Forms & Grammar
silty adjective
silt
siltier
siltiest
silts
silty
silty (comparative siltier, superlative siltiest)
Words That Rhyme With Silty
Origin of Silty
Origin 1: Middle English cylte, probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Norwegian dialect sylt beach flooded at high tide; akin to Old High German sulza salt marsh, Old English sealt salt
Origin 2: From silt + -y.
First Known Use
15th century
How Do You Say Silty?
The standard pronunciation of silty is /ˈsilt/, spoken in 1 syllable.