sediment

noun

1. the matter that settles to the bottom of a liquid; lees; dregs.
2. Geology. mineral or organic matter deposited by water, air, or ice.

verb (used with object)

3. to deposit as sediment.

verb (used without object)

4. to form or deposit sediment.

noun

1. matter that settles to the bottom of a liquid
2. material that has been deposited from water, ice, or wind

n.1540s, “matter which settles at the bottom of water or other liquid,” from Middle French sédiment (16c.) and directly from Latin sedimentum “a settling, sinking down,” from stem of sedere “to settle, sit” (see sedentary). n.

1. Insoluble material that sinks to the bottom of a liquid, as in hypostasis.

1. Geology Solid fragmented material, such as silt, sand, gravel, chemical precipitates, and fossil fragments, that is transported and deposited by water, ice, or wind or that accumulates through chemical precipitation or secretion by organisms, and that forms layers on the Earth’s surface. Sedimentary rocks consist of consolidated sediment.
2. Chemistry
3. Particles of solid matter that settle out of a suspension to the bottom of the liquid.