spindrift
Americannoun
noun
-
spray blown up from the surface of the sea
-
powdery snow blown off a mountain
Etymology
Origin of spindrift
1590–1600; variant of Scots speendrift spoondrift
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
James Instance, from Falmouth RNLI, said conditions there were getting worse, with high waves and spindrift coming through.
From BBC • Feb. 18, 2022
While the rest of the group heads out for a swim, I excuse myself, hop off the walkway to explore the unpaved crevices, and discover a little secluded cove frothed in spindrift.
From Scientific American • Feb. 12, 2018
The battle to prevent healthy scepticism from metastasising into cancerous solipsism has typified Western philosophy since Thales of Miletus theorised that all things were but cosmic spindrift conjured momentarily from a great and watery flux.
From BBC • Dec. 6, 2013
A winning America didn’t cut through this vision of brown spindrift and black tides.
From New York Times • Jul. 12, 2010
“The blowing spindrift felt like a sandblaster or something. I could only go out for fifteen minutes at a time before I became too cold and had to return to the tent.”
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
