sludge
/slʌd͡ʒ/noun, verb
sludge is spelled S-L-U-D-G-E: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,516th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, sludge means “Solids separated from suspension in a liquid” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of sludge is sludges.
How many letters and syllables are in sludge?
| Letters | 6: S-L-U-D-G-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.7 times per million words; the 21,516th 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 sludge?
Sludge appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,516th 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 sludge?
- /slʌd͡ʒ/
Sludge has one syllable (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-sludge.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-sludge.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of sludge
- sludges plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- slutch
- sludging participle, present
- sludged participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sludge mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Solids separated from suspension in a liquid.
- 2
A residual semi-solid material left from industrial, water treatment, or wastewater treatment processes.
- 3
A sediment of accumulated minerals in a steam boiler.
- 4
A mass of small pieces of ice on the surface of a water body.
- 5
Ellipsis of sludge metal.
- 6
Institutional policies that introduce tedium and inefficiency in processes.
verb
- 1
informalTo slump or slouch.
- 2
To slop or drip slowly.
noun
- 1
An acronym used to help remember the common symptoms of certain affections of a cholinergic toxidrome: salivation, lacrimation, urination, defecation, gastrointestinal upset, emesis.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sludge in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | lie |
| German | Schlamm, Matsch , Abwasserschlamm |
| Portuguese | sedimento |
| Spanish | lodo, sedimento, puaj, fango, pecina |
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 sludge come from?
From Middle English slugge, sluche (“mud, mire”), probably an alteration of Middle English sliche, slicche ("mud, slush, tar"; whence Modern English slitch), from Old English *sliċ, from Proto-West Germanic *sliki, *slīk, from Proto-Germanic *slikiz, *slīką (“mud, slush”). Cognate with Dutch slijk, German Schlick. Compare also slush.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).