de·bris

also dé·bris (də-brē′, dā-, dā′brē′)

a. The scattered remains of something broken or destroyed; rubble or wreckage.

b. Carelessly discarded refuse; litter.

2. Geology An accumulation of relatively large rock fragments: glacial debris.

3. Biology The fragmented remains of dead or damaged cells or tissue.

[French débris, from Old French debrisier, to break to pieces : de-, intensive pref.; see de- + brisier, to break (from Vulgar Latin *brīsāre, to press grapes, probably of Celtic origin).]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

debris

(ˈdeɪbrɪ; ˈdɛbrɪ) or

débris

1. fragments or remnants of something destroyed or broken; rubble

2. (Environmental Science) a collection of loose material derived from rocks, or an accumulation of animal or vegetable matter

[C18: from French, from obsolete debrisier to break into pieces, from bruisier to shatter, of Celtic origin]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

de•bris

or dé•bris

(dəˈbri, ˈdeɪ bri; esp. Brit. ˈdɛb ri)

n.

1. the remains of anything destroyed; ruins; rubble.

2. Geol. accumulated loose fragments of rock.

[1700–10; < French débris, derivative of débriser to break up (in pieces); see bruise)]

Debris

the remains of anything broken down; ruins, etc.; the accumulation of loose material or of rock, vegetable, or animal matter.

Examples: debris of the Alps, 1802; of an army, 1708; of an Empire, 1778; of ancient rocks, 1849.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

debris - the remains of something that has been destroyed or broken up

detritus, junk, rubble, dust

rubbish, trash, scrap - worthless material that is to be disposed of

slack - dust consisting of a mixture of small coal fragments and coal dust and dirt that sifts out when coal is passed over a sieve

debris

noun remains, bits, pieces, waste, ruins, wreck, rubbish, fragments, litter, rubble, wreckage, brash, detritus, dross People were killed by flying debris.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

debris

noun

The remains of something destroyed, disintegrated, or decayed:

rubble, ruin, wrack, wreck, wreckage.

Translations

أنْقاضحُطام

drťodpadsuťtrosky

affaldbrokkerruinerstumper

Schutt Trümmer Trumm Geröll

συντρίμμια

escombros restos escombro

jäänteetjätteetpirstaleet

débris

törmelék

ruslrústir, brak

detriti macerie rottami ruderi avanzi

griuvėsiailaužasnuolaužosšiukšlės

būvgružidrupasgruveši

ruine

brokker rester ruiner rusk søppel

лом мусор обломки развалины руины

rumovisko

razbitineruševine

döküntü enkaz moloz

残骸瓦砾堆碎片

debris

[ˈdebriː] N [of building, construction] → escombros mpl; [of aeroplane] → restos mpl (Geol) → rocalla f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

debris

débris [ˈdeɪbriː ˈdɛbriː] n

(= rubble) → décombres mpl
They are sifting through the debris → Ils sont en train d'inspecter les décombres.
Several people were killed by flying debris → Plusieurs personnes ont été tuées par des débris volants.

(= rubbish) → déchets mpl

(= mess)
the piles of debris on her bedroom floor → tout le bazar éparpillé par terre dans sa chambre

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

debris

n → Trümmer pl, → Schutt m; (Geol) → Geröll nt

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

debris

[ˈdɛbriː] n → detriti mpl

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

debris

(ˈdeibriː) , ((American) dəˈbri:) noun

1. the remains of something broken, destroyed etc. The fireman found a corpse among the debris.

2. rubbish. There was a lot of debris in the house after the builder had left.

de·bris

n. detrito, partículas, [building] escombros.

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

Two months after, they learned from Bowen, commander of the Albemarle, that the debris of shipwrecked vessels had been seen on the coasts of New Georgia.

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Scarce had the debris settled than the ape-man was among the beasts, quieting their fears, talking to them in low, pacific tones, stroking their shaggy bodies, and assuring them, as only he could, that the immediate danger was over.

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Two or three waiters in a few seconds succeeded in removing the debris of the accident, the orchestra commenced a favourite waltz.

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A cash box had been hastily smashed open and thrown under the debris.

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it had partially filled with debris so that how large it had originally been was difficult to say.

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Here may spring up new and mongrel races, like new formations in geology, the amalgamation of the "debris" and "abrasions" of former races, civilized and savage; the remains of broken and almost extinguished tribes; the descendants of wandering hunters and trappers; of fugitives from the Spanish and American frontiers; of adventurers and desperadoes of every class and country, yearly ejected from the bosom of society into the wilderness.

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The wreckage of the spring washing appeared everywhere--piles of sluice-boxes, sections of elevated flumes, huge water-wheels,--all the debris of an army of gold-mad men.

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All about him was the debris of the feast, and he scented the smouldering odours of dying fires and burnt meat.

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The girl cast a glance about the room filled with a chaotic mass of debris, and at the red, writhing body of her mother.

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The waves had receded, leaving bits of dark debris upon the ground.

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A jet of fire, smoke, and debris sprang from the middle of the grotto, enlarging as it mounted.

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Upon the crumbling debris along the face of the buildings trees had grown, and vines wound in and out of the hollow, staring windows; but the building directly opposite them seemed less overgrown than the others, and in a much better state of preservation.

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