sediment
/ˈsɛd.ɪ.mənt/noun, verb
sediment is spelled S-E-D-I-M-E-N-T: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 2.6 times per million words in written English, the 16,687th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, sediment means “A collection of small particles, particularly dirt, that precipitates from a river or other body of water” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of sediment is sediments.
How many letters and syllables are in sediment?
| Letters | 8: S-E-D-I-M-E-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.6 times per million words; the 16,687th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is sediment?
Sediment appears 2.6 times per million words in written English, the 16,687th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce sediment?
- /ˈsɛd.ɪ.mənt/
Sediment has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-sediment.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of sediment
- sediments plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- sedimenting participle, present
- sedimented participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sediment mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A collection of small particles, particularly dirt, that precipitates from a river or other body of water.
The Nile delta is composed of sediment that was washed down and deposited at the mouth of the river.
verb
- 1
To deposit material as a sediment.
- 2
To be deposited as a sediment.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sediment in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sédiment , sédimenter |
| German | Sediment, Satz, Bodensatz |
| Portuguese | sedimento |
| Spanish | sedimento , sedimentar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does sediment come from?
From Middle French sédiment, from Latin sedimentum < sedeō.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).