# scree

> English word · Noun · IPA /skɹiː/ · frequency rank #66,273

## Definitions
1. Loose stony debris on a slope.
2. Similar debris made up of broken building material such as bricks, concrete, etc.
3. A slope made up of scree at the base of a cliff, mountain, etc.

## Etymology
Probably a back-formation from screes, from Old Norse skriða (“landslide, landslip”); compare skríða (“to glide”) (from Proto-Germanic *skrīþaną (“to crawl; to glide; to walk”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kreyt-, *(s)ker- (“to bend, turn”)). The word is cognate with Icelandic skriða (“avalanche; landslide, landslip; steep mountain- or hillside made up of gravel and loose rocks”).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/scree