moraine

noun

mo·​raine mə-ˈrān How to pronounce moraine (audio)
: an accumulation of earth and stones carried and finally deposited by a glacier
morainal
mə-ˈrā-nᵊl How to pronounce moraine (audio)
adjective
morainic
mə-ˈrā-nik How to pronounce moraine (audio)
adjective

Examples of moraine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In 2023, thawing permafrost led to a rock collapse into South Lhonak Lake in Sikkim, India, generating a wave that burst through the moraine holding back the glacial lake. — Umesh Haritashya, The Conversation, 29 Aug. 2026 Expect lakes, moraines, river valleys, prairies, and thick forests. — Stephanie Vermillion, Travel + Leisure, 11 Apr. 2026 At Green-Wood Cemetery, an almost five-hundred-acre burial ground in western Brooklyn that rises and falls along an old push moraine, a nonprofit has partnered with the city on interventions meant to keep stormwater out of sixteen nearby sewersheds during heavy rainfall. — Eric Klinenberg, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026 Sometime in the next week, another part of the team, working from the South Korean icebreaker RV Araon, aims to drop another cable, which a robot will traverse once a day, down to a rocky moraine in the Amundsen Sea. — Christian Elliott, The Atlantic, 31 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for moraine

Word History

Etymology

French, from French dialect (Savoy) morêna

First Known Use

1783, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of moraine was in 1783

Rhymes for moraine

See All Rhymes for moraine

Browse Nearby Words

morainal
moraine
morainic
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Moraine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/moraine. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

moraine

noun
mo·​raine mə-ˈrān How to pronounce moraine (audio)
: a pile of earth and stones carried and deposited by a glacier

More from Merriam-Webster on moraine

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about moraine

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of apiary

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All