the more or less fine debris of rocks, consisting of small, loose grains, often of quartz.
Usually sands. a tract or region composed principally of sand.
the sand or a grain of sand in an hourglass.
sands, moments of time or of one's life.
At this stage of his career the sands are running out.
a light reddish- or brownish-yellow color.
Informal. courage; pluck.
to smooth or polish with sand, sandpaper, or some other abrasive.
to sand the ends of a board.
to sprinkle with or as if with sand.
to sand an icy road.
to fill up with sand, as a harbor.
to add sand to.
The mischievous child sanded the sugar.
loose material consisting of rock or mineral grains, esp rounded grains of quartz, between 0.05 and 2 mm in diameter
(often plural) a sandy area, esp on the seashore or in a desert
a greyish-yellow colour
( as adjective )
sand upholstery
the grains of sandlike material in an hourglass
informal courage; grit
to put a stop to or a limit on
there is not much time left before death or the end
(tr) to smooth or polish the surface of with sandpaper or sand
to sand a floor
(tr) to sprinkle or cover with or as if with sand; add sand to
to fill or cause to fill with sand
the channel sanded up
before 900; Middle English (noun), Old English; cognate with German Sand, Old Norse sandr
Sand is a substance that's made of tiny pieces of rock. The sand on some beaches is rough and pebbly, while other sand is smooth and soft. Either way, don't track it into the house. You can find sand on riverbanks, in flower beds, and in sandboxes, among many other places. Grains of sand are composed of rocks and coral that have been worn down over the years. As a verb, sand means "make smooth with sandpaper." There's also an old fashioned colloquial way to use this word, to mean "determination" or "grit." So you could say, "I'm impressed that she had the sand to travel in India by herself!"
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The teenager claimed that her boyfriend had gone up alone to the sand dune where the trio were, but Turley was not there initially.
From BBC • May 21, 2026
“The USD/JPY outlook remains firmly pointed towards the exchange rate returning to the 160.00 area, which investors increasingly view as the line in the sand for Tokyo policymakers,” says Razaqzada.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026
He waded through lagoon waters with saltwater crocodiles, landing on a white sand beach, carrying a sack of coconuts as a sign of goodwill.
From Barron's • May 18, 2026
In June 2025, Alexander said that after "a litany of failure" she was "drawing a line in the sand" and the government would get HS2 delivered.
From BBC • May 17, 2026
They sat, the two of them, shoulder to shoulder in the sand.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
