silt
/sɪlt/ (bre, ipa) · /sɪlt/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈsilt/ (ame, mw)
silt — noun
1. fine sand, soil, or mud that is carried by flowing water and left behind, especi
fine sand, soil, or mud that is carried by flowing water and left behind, especially at river bends, river mouths, or in harbours, where it can build up over time and change the shape of the land.
Each spring, floodwater leaves a fresh layer of silt across the rice fields.
collocation: layer of silt
Engineers remove silt from the harbour every few years so ships can enter safely.
silt + verb (remove silt)
Over thousands of years, silt from the river created the plain where the city stands.
A thick layer of silt covered the canal floor after the water was drained.
Kwame used a metal tube to take a silt sample from the lake bottom.
文法句型
silt + verb (accumulates, deposits, settles)
用法筆記
Also used as an uncountable noun — you cannot say 'a silt' or 'silts'. If you need a countable unit, use 'a grain of silt' or 'a layer of silt'.
常見錯誤
silt — verb
- siltpresent simple I / you / we / they
- silts3rd person singular
- silting-ing form
- siltedpast simple
1. to become slowly filled or blocked with silt, so that water can no longer flow f
to become slowly filled or blocked with silt, so that water can no longer flow freely through a river, channel, or harbour.
The old harbour has silted up over twenty years, so only rowboats can enter.
phrasal pattern: silt up
Sofia warned the council that the canal would silt up without regular dredging.
After the dam was built, the river silted up because the current was too slow.
If the drainage ditches silt up, the farm fields will flood after heavy rain.
文法句型
silt (up) + adverb of place
river + silts (up)
用法筆記
This verb is most commonly used in the phrasal form 'silt up'. The simple form 'silt' without a particle is also possible but less frequent. Frequently used with 'over time' or 'gradually' because silting is a slow process.
常見錯誤
2. to gradually fill or block something, such as a waterway or pipe, with silt, mak
to gradually fill or block something, such as a waterway or pipe, with silt, making it difficult or impossible for water to pass through.
Mud from the landslide silted the main drainage channel, flooding the village fields.
active transitive: landslide silted the channel
The irrigation pipes were silted by fine river soil, so no water reached the crops.
passive: be silted by [cause]
Construction near the creek silted the stream bed and killed many fish.
If storm water is not channelled away, it will silt the city's underground drainage tunnels.
- dredge
to remove mud or silt from the bottom of a river or harbour
文法句型
silt + noun phrase
be silted by + noun
用法筆記
This transitive sense is used when an outside force (flood water, construction, a landslide) actively deposits silt in a place. The direct object is the waterway, pipe, or basin that becomes blocked. The passive form ('was silted by…') is common in environmental reports.