sand

The word “sand” means loose grains of rock, finer than gravel but coarser than silt, found on beaches and in deserts. In plain terms, fine loose grains of rock found on beaches and deserts — or, as a verb, to smooth wood with an abrasive.

“Sand” is pronounced sand (/sænd/ in IPA).

Here is “sand” used in a sentence: “The children built a castle out of wet sand near the shoreline.”

Depending on how it is used, “sand” can be a noun and a verb.

The word “sand” comes from Old English. From Old English sand, from an ancient Germanic root meaning the same, related to German Sand and Dutch zand.

“Sand” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

“Sand” has 4 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: loose grains of rock, finer than gravel but coarser than silt, found on beaches and in deserts.

The difference is grain size. Sand is made of loose mineral grains you can see and feel individually, coarser than silt but finer than gravel. Silt is finer still — smooth and floury to the touch, with particles too small to distinguish by eye. When wet, silt feels slippery, whereas sand stays gritty.

Most sand is tiny fragments of rock and mineral worn down over long periods by water and weather. The commonest ingredient is quartz, or silica, because it resists erosion. Some sand comes from other sources too — tropical white sand is often ground-up coral and shell, and black sand can be volcanic rock.

Sand is grouped in several ways. By source there is beach sand, river sand, and desert sand; by make-up there is silica or quartz sand, coral sand, and volcanic black sand. Builders also sort sand by grain size and shape, since sharp, coarse grains and smooth, fine ones suit different jobs.