sand1 nounsand2 verb
sandsand1 /sænd/ ●●● S3 W3 noun 
Word OriginWORD ORIGINsand1
ExamplesOrigin:
Old EnglishEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- The neighbors' children played happily in the sand.
- All-terrain-vehicle tracks cross the white sand in the bed of the North Fork of the Red.
- As they ran over the pulleys, a slurry of sand or tungsten carbide was poured on the wire.
- Everything about it was grey-brown - houses, donkeys, sand and peasants' heavy robes.
- Here the effects of the weather - snow, wind, sand, rain and fog - are shown.
- It is possible that the reactors will never be demolished, but will be buried in mounds of sand or gravel.
- Just little puffs of sand in the short grass.
- Wet sand can be moulded, whilst dry sand is much more elusive.
- You will notice phrases like crocodile tears, the elephant never forgets, and the ostrich burying its head in the sand.
THESAURUS► sand
Collocations a substance that forms beaches and deserts, or an area of this substance: · sunbathers lying on the sand· He could see several small figures out on the sands.
► beach an area of sand or small stones at the edge of the sea or a lake: · the island's golden beaches· How about a day at the beach?· a pebble beach
► desert a large area of land where it is always very hot and dry, and there is a lot of sand: · the Sahara desert· They crossed the desert by camel.
► dune/sand dune a hill made of sand near the sea or in the desert: · We went for a long walk along the dunes.· The dunes are home to a wide variety of birds and plants.
Longman Language Activatorto ignore something bad, even though you know it is wrong► overlook to ignore something wrong that someone has done, especially because it is unimportant: · I'll overlook your mistake this time.· Mrs Johnson tends to overlook any small faults the girls may have.· Although this is a first offence it cannot be overlooked.
► let it pass to decide not to punish or criticize someone for doing something wrong, although you might do so if they do it again: · I think they've broken the rules, but I'll let it pass.· Howard had insulted her, but she thought it better to let it pass this time.
► turn a blind eye if someone in authority turns a blind eye to illegal activity or bad behaviour, they ignore it and pretend they do not know about it: · If my sister did something wrong my mother always turned a blind eye.· The guards turned a blind eye when the prisoners stole food from the kitchen.turn a blind eye to: · The President could no longer turn a blind eye to the indiscretions of his Chief of Staff.
► shut/close your eyes to to ignore something and pretend it does not exist because it is unpleasant or difficult to deal with: · The officials in charge of the Chernobyl power station had shut their eyes to the danger.· Of course, it is tempting to criticize other countries and close your eyes to all the problems of your own society.
► bury your head in the sand to ignore an unpleasant situation and hope it will stop if you try not to think about it: · You'll never solve your problems if you just bury your head in the sand -- you have to face them.
WORD SETS► Geographyabyss, nounalluvial, adjectivealluvium, nounalpine, adjectiveAmerican, adjectiveAntarctica, anticyclone, nounarchipelago, nounArctic, adjectivearid, adjectiveAsia, atlas, nounatoll, nounAustralasia, Australasian, adjectiveAustralia, avalanche, nounaxis, nounbank, nounbarometer, nounbarrier reef, nounbasin, nounbay, nounbayou, nounbeach, nounbearing, nounbed, nounbight, nounbluff, nounborder, nounborder, verbborderland, nounborderline, nounborough, nounbox canyon, nounBritish, adjectivebutte, nouncanyon, nouncape, nouncapital, nouncardinal point, nounCaribbean, adjectivecartography, nouncay, nounchain, nounchaparral, nounchart, nounchasm, nounchimney, nounChinese, adjectivecirrus, nounCIS, nouncliff, nounclimate, nounclimatic, adjectivecoastal, adjectivecoastline, nouncockney, nouncol, nouncold front, nouncommuter belt, nouncompass, nounconfluence, nouncontinent, nouncontinental, adjectivecontinental shelf, nouncontour, nounconurbation, nouncoordinate, nouncorridor, nouncorrie, nouncoterminous, adjectivecouncil estate, nouncountry, nouncounty, nouncounty town, nouncourse, nouncove, nouncrag, nouncraggy, adjectivecreek, nouncrevasse, nouncrevice, nouncumulus, nouncyclone, noundateline, noundelta, noundesert, noundesert island, noundevelopment, noundistrict, noundivide, noundown, adverbdune, noundust bowl, nouneast, nouneast, adjectiveeast, adverbeastbound, adjectiveeasterly, adjectiveeasterly, nouneastern, adjectiveEasterner, nouneasternmost, adjectiveeastwards, adverbelevation, nouneminence, nounenvirons, nounequatorial, adjectiveerode, verberosion, nounescarpment, nounestuary, nounEurope, nounextraterritorial, adjectiveeyot, nounface, nounfarmland, nounfeeder, nounfiord, nounfirth, nounfjord, nounflood plain, nounfluvial, adjectivefrontier, nounfrontiersman, noungale force, adjectivegap, noungeo-, prefixgeography, noungeophysics, noungeopolitics, noungeyser, nounglacial, adjectiveglaciation, nounglacier, nounglobe, noungoldfield, noungorge, noungrassland, nounGrecian, adjectivegreen belt, noungrid, noungrotto, noungroundwater, noungulch, noungulf, noungully, nounhead, nounheadland, nounheadwaters, nounheartland, nounhemisphere, nounhighland, adjectivehighlands, nounhigh water mark, nounhinterland, nounHome Counties, the, homeland, nounhurricane, noun-i, suffixIberian, adjectiveiceberg, nounice cap, nounice floe, nounice pack, nounice sheet, nouninhabitant, nouninland, adjectiveinland, adverbinlet, nouninner city, nouninshore, adverbinsular, adjectiveintercontinental, adjectiveInternational Date Line, nounisland, nounisle, nounislet, nounisobar, nounIsraeli, adjectiveIsraeli, nounisthmus, nounItalian, adjectiveItalianate, adjectiveItalo-, prefixJapanese, adjectivekey, nounknoll, nounlagoon, nounlake, nounlandlocked, adjectivelandmass, nounlandslide, nounlandslip, nounlat., Latin, adjectiveLatin America, nounLatin American, adjectivelatitude, nounlevee, nounlittoral, nounlong., longitude, nounlongitudinal, adjectivelough, nounlowlands, nounlow-lying, adjectivelow water mark, nounmagnetic north, nounmagnetic pole, nounmarsh, nounmarshland, nounmeander, verbMediterranean, adjectiveMercator projection, nounmeridian, nounmesa, nounMiddle America, nounmidtown, adjectivemonsoon, nounmoorland, nounmorass, nounmountain, nounmountainside, nounmountaintop, nounmouth, nounmudslide, nounmull, nounnarrows, nounnavigation, nounNE, neck, nounnor'-, prefixnorth, nounnorth, adjectivenorth, adverbNorth America, nounnortheast, nounnortheast, adjectivenortheasterly, adjectivenortheastern, adjectivenortheastwards, adverbnortherly, adjectivenorthern, adjectivenortherner, nounnorthernmost, adjectivenorthwards, adverbnorthwest, nounnorthwest, adjectivenorthwesterly, adjectivenorthwestern, adjectivenorthwestwards, adverbnotch, nounNW, NZ, oasis, nounoccidental, nounocean, nounonshore, adjectiveopenness, nounOrdnance Survey map, nounoriental, adjectiveoutcrop, nounoverspill, nounpack ice, nounpaddy, nounpalisade, nounpan-, prefixpanhandle, nounparallel, nounpeak, nounpeninsula, nounPersian, adjectivephysical geography, nounplain, nounplateau, nounpoint, nounpolar, adjectivepole, nounpolitical geography, nounpollutant, nounpop., populate, verbpopulation, nounprairie, nounprecipice, nounprecipitation, nounPrime Meridian, principality, nounprojection, nounpromontory, nounprovince, nounprovincial, adjectivepueblo, nounR, rainfall, nounrain forest, nounrain gauge, nounrainstorm, nounrange, nounravine, nounreef, nounreference, nounregion, nounregional, adjectiverelief map, nounreservoir, nounresettle, verbresidential, adjectiveresource, nounridge, nounrift valley, nounrise, verbriver, nounriver basin, nounriver bed, nounRoman, adjectiverotation, nounrugged, adjectiverun-off, nounrural, adjectivesand, nounsand bar, nounsandstorm, nounsandy, adjectivesavanna, nounScandinavian, nounscar, nounscarp, nounscree, nounscrubland, nounSE, seaboard, nounsea breeze, nounseafront, nounsea level, nounseaport, nounseaward, adjectivesection, nounsemitropical, adjectiveshelf, nounslough, nounsmog, nounsnowfield, nounsource, nounsouth, nounsouth, adjectivesouth, adverbSouth America, adjectivesoutheast, nounsoutheast, adjectivesoutheasterly, adjectivesoutheastern, adjectivesoutheastwards, adverbsoutherly, adjectivesouthern, adjectivesouthernmost, adjectivesouthwards, adverbsouthwest, nounsouthwest, adjectivesouthwesterly, adjectivesouthwestern, adjectivesouthwestwards, adverbspeleology, nounspit, nounspur, nounstrait, nounsubcontinent, nounsubtropical, adjectivesuburb, nounsuburban, adjectivesummit, nounsurvey, nounsurvey, verbSW, swamp, nountableland, nounterrain, nounterritory, nountidal, adjectivetidal wave, nountidewater, nountime zone, nountop, nountopography, nountor, nountornado, nountown, nountown centre, nountowpath, nountrack, nountract, nountrade route, nountrail, nountransatlantic, adjectivetranscontinental, adjectivetributary, nountropic, nountropical, adjectivetundra, nountyphoon, nounUK, the, uncharted, adjectiveup, adverbup-country, adjectiveuplands, nounupper, adjectiveupriver, adverbupstate, adjectiveupstream, adverbuptown, adverburban, adjectiveurbanized, adjectiveurban renewal, nounurban sprawl, nounUS, the, adjectivevalley, nounW, warm front, nounwaste, adjectivewasteland, nounwater, verbwatercourse, nounwaterfall, nounwaterfront, nounwaterhole, nounwatering place, nounwater meadow, nounwatershed, nounwater table, nounwaterway, nounweather vane, nounwest, nounwest, adjectiveWest, nounwestern, adjectiveWesterner, nounwesternmost, adjectivewestward, adverbwilderness, nounwolds, nounzoning, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES► gravel/sand/chalk pitCOLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE► coarse
Phrases· It will grow well in plain aquarium coarse sand or fine gravel.· In Breckland there is coarse sand which is very porous and poor for crops.· Some clay with coarse sand or gravel can be provided in the tank.· G Gravel rounded stone chips, coarser than sand.· Therefore a mixture of clay or loam and coarse river sand is needed.· Possible developments Sand Ideally, children should be offered regular experience of both wet and dry, coarse and silver sand.· Cultivation: A layer of peat and gravel, or leaf-mould and coarse sand or loam should provide a good medium.· However, if cracks do appear, you should try brushing a mixture of peat or compost and coarse sand into them.
► damp· Propagation is done by either dividing the rootstock with shoots or by planting seeds in a container of damp sand or loam.· Quite suddenly we had driven into soft, damp sand, grey and treacherous.· Seeing his brother walking away Benny followed hastily, rubbing off the damp sand from his hands on his shorts.· They hibernate during the dry season by burrowing deep into the damp sand.· Line the floor and sides with damp sand or newspaper.· Hands and feet are used to print with paint or into clay or damp sand.· I let my head fall to one side, my cheek against the cool damp sand.
► dry· Wet sand can be moulded, whilst dry sand is much more elusive.· If you shake a beaker full of dry sand, the particles will settle and the material will become denser.· The sand wheel can be used with wet or dry sand.· The funnel-shaped pits are constructed in dry soil or sand using a novel excavation technique.· Little grains of dry sand stuck to it, so I brushed them off.· Do not try laying dry sand below the floor boards, without first having the floor inspected for strength and suitability.
► fine· Jagged irregular vibrations up the line suggest gravel and stones, small regular vibes mean fine gravel or sand.· Moreover, the tower roof is sprinkled with fine sand to prevent anyone slipping.· But when she arrived on the fine white sand of the cove the question was still there, unanswered and unanswerable.· The pygmies were gone, and below the airship was a soft desert of fine, white sand.· Try smearing the spanner jaws with light oil, then dipping them in fine sand.· Likewise, further groupings such as percentage of coarse sand or of very fine sand may also be calculated.· It was a mistake: the fine, white sand collapsed away from under his feet and made the going difficult.· Marlstone high up on some north-facing slopes, with an isolated stratum of fine calcareous sand up to fifteen metres thick in places.
► golden· She was kneeling on a beach of golden sand.· She forbade him to accompany her beyond the door and walked alone over the golden sand past the flower-beds to the gate.· Le Sport is surrounded by tropical gardens on a secluded bay of golden sand.· Swimming Swimming from Colwyn Bay's 3 miles of golden sand is safe and is ideal for families.
► soft· Mitjorn beach is home to a couple of hotels and hostels and is a long, lazy affair of white soft sand.· After brownies and roasted marshmallows, star-gazing was superb and sleeping on the soft sand was a pleasure.· Then they burrow deep into the still soft sand and excavate a small chamber.· For a while he stood on the soft sand, watching the waves break and the sandpipers scatter under them.· Quite suddenly we had driven into soft, damp sand, grey and treacherous.· When she next looked inland, the terrain had changed to soft, silvery sand and rustling, bumpy dunes.· Imagine that you can hear the waves gently lapping on to the soft sand.· There is a pier, a busy soft sand beach and some beautiful public gardens.
► wet· For example, if you wanted the effect of wet sand when the tide is low.· She had trodden them into the wet sand and they were horrible.· The sand wheel can be used with wet or dry sand.· We trekked across the wet sand towards Tony on the far bank ahead of us.· Cutting stone was done with a rope dipped in wet sand and used like a saw.· And it says come down on to the wet pale sand, Come down into the picture.
► white· Behind it the water looked tantalisingly calm with a gorgeous white sand beach fringed with coconut palms.· I was allowed to play in a huge pile of white sand and to melt wire with a hot soldering gun.· But when she arrived on the fine white sand of the cove the question was still there, unanswered and unanswerable.· They set up a perimeter on the white sand, went swimming, dug in deep for the night.· The pygmies were gone, and below the airship was a soft desert of fine, white sand.· All-terrain-vehicle tracks cross the white sand in the bed of the North Fork of the Red.· It has an enticing colour photograph of palm trees and white sand.· Three rocks, a gnarled pine tree, raked white sand: awe.
NOUN► bar· A sand bar was dredged, allowing the passenger and excursion steamers to make better use of the port.· At least 20 others were run aground, driven into sand bars by huge waves and winds topping 100 miles per hour.· The Kumbukan river rises with the first rains and breaks down the sand bar between itself and the sea.· Moose and bear prints dotted the sand bars and bald eagles glared down at us from river-side perches.
► beach· Behind it the water looked tantalisingly calm with a gorgeous white sand beach fringed with coconut palms.· The shoreline was black gravel, occasionally interrupted by a sand beach.· Swimming is also available at the Lido, where there is a large sand beach, and at the swimming pool.· Quickly rising in popularity due to its magnificent white sand beach, Kuantan is one of the east coast's finest resorts.· There is a pier, a busy soft sand beach and some beautiful public gardens.
► castle· Finally, the teacher took a bucket and made a sand castle on top.· The result: a piece as solid and dependable as a sand castle in high tide.· Bathing is safe and children can have lots of fun, paddling and shrimping in the rock pools and making sand castles.· After playgroup we drove to Sagaponack to swim, make sand castles and kick around a soccer ball.· They overflow with art projects and dragon slayers, with fireflies and sand castles, with tents and mysterious bones.
► dune· It's found in lowland areas on chalk grassland and among sand dunes.· There would be no more lying in the warm sand dunes.· Participants will also visit the adjacent Oceano sand dunes wilderness area.· There were sand dunes here, he remembered.· We stand on a high sand dune and look out at the sea and the imposing gray sky.· More than 80 of these include mudflats, sand dunes, salt marshes and shingle banks.
► grain· This new species lives below the surface of the rock in the interstices of its sand grains.· Do we mean something like one sand grain every square metre of sea-floor per minute, per day, per year?· In a turbulent flow of air near the surface local upward currents may lift a sand grain.· The turbulence in the water film around the sand grains caused by your footfalls triggers the fluorescence.· Specimens from unconsolidated gravels are not difficult to clean, any adherent sand grains being easily removed using a stout pin.
► pit· Many schools are fortunate to have an outside sand pit as well.· Now suppose we ask Professor Summerlee, after a particular landing in the sand pit, what he has just experienced.· It appears that there has been some misunderstanding with regard to the sand pit cover. 3.
VERB► blow· A thin, bad-tempered breeze blew sand into our faces and whipped up under my skirt.· Snow flurries wafted in Saturday afternoon, mixing with the blowing sand and occasionally giving the Mall the look of winter tundra.· But they are not for effect, they are to keep pollen and blowing sand and wind out of his contact lenses.
► bury· The sea wall ended, steps going down from the promenade and burying themselves in sand.· Many wrasses bury themselves in the sand at night.· It is possible that the reactors will never be demolished, but will be buried in mounds of sand or gravel.· The seeds of Nuphar must be stored in cold surroundings, either covered with moss or buried in the sand.· Archaeologists found it in a boat-shaped tomb 29m long, made out of mud bricks and buried deep in the sand.· He was buried in the sand.· We just buried ourselves in the sand.· A solitary star plummeted downward to bury itself in the sand beside Alec's foot.
► fill· If we fill the wheelbarrow with sand in the pit, it's too heavy to lift out.· His mouth felt dry, as if some one had filled it with sand.· The side pockets can be filled with sand and pebbles to anchor the tent if it's breezy.· It was if some one had filled it with sand.· The gaps between the skeletons were filled in by sand and the even tinier remains of micro-organisms.
► lie· Tim was lying on the sand, looking in the direction the man had gone.· We lay on the glossy sand as the waves rustled up, soaked us and retreated.· Nearby, two rusting medieval cannons lie half-buried in the sand.· There would be no more lying in the warm sand dunes.· The watchman lay down on the sand and put his arms together over his head.· The area is dependent on fishing and farming, yet the fishing boats lie idle in the sand.· It was high tide and the thing lay all along the sand.· Simon's jacket lay on the sand.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► bury your head in the sand
1[uncountable] a substance consisting of very small pieces of rocks and minerals, that forms beaches and deserts: - If you bury your head in the sand now, you may lose your house.
- You'll never solve your problems if you just bury your head in the sand -- you have to face them.
a mixture of sand and cement I have sand in my shoe.2[countable, uncountable] an area of beach: miles of golden sands We were just sitting on the sand.3the sands of time literary moments of time that pass quicklyTHESAURUS– Meanings 1 & 2sand a substance that forms beaches and deserts, or an area of this substance: · sunbathers lying on the sand· He could see several small figures out on the sands.beach an area of sand or small stones at the edge of the sea or a lake: · the island's golden beaches· How about a day at the beach?· a pebble beachdesert a large area of land where it is always very hot and dry, and there is a lot of sand: · the Sahara desert· They crossed the desert by camel.dune/sand dune a hill made of sand near the sea or in the desert: · We went for a long walk along the dunes.· The dunes are home to a wide variety of birds and plants.sand1 nounsand2 verb
sandsand2 (also sand down) verb [intransitive, transitive] Verb TableVERB TABLE
sand
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | sand |
| he, she, it | sands | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | sanded |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have sanded |
| he, she, it | has sanded | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had sanded |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will sand |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have sanded |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am sanding |
| he, she, it | is sanding | |
| you, we, they | are sanding | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was sanding |
| you, we, they | were sanding | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been sanding |
| he, she, it | has been sanding | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been sanding |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be sanding |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been sanding |
EXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
word sets- Any wood block floor will eventually need some maintenance by being sanded down and resealed.
- If it does need sanding, get this done and then give the scrub and wash treatment.
- Instead of producing something his neighbors wanted, he dreamily sawed and sanded something utterly useless to them.
- Parts of the fairway had reverted to sand dune.
- The solvent type paint removers do not normally raise the grain and it is not necessary to sand after stripping.
- The Unabomber, carefully sanding down his wooden bomb covers, would have been untouched by it.
WORD SETS► Construction
Collocationsadobe, nounasphalt, nounbatten, nounbeam, nounblueprint, nounboard, nounboom, nounbreeze-block, nounbrick, nounbricklayer, nounbrickwork, nounbucket, nounbuilder, nounbuilding contractor, nounbuilding site, nounbulldoze, verbbulldozer, nounbuttress, nouncaisson, nouncantilever, nouncastellated, adjectivecavity wall, nouncement, nouncement, verbconcrete, adjectiveconcrete, nounconcrete, verbconduit, nounconstruct, verbcrane, nouncrosspiece, noundaub, noundigger, noundowel, noundrain, noundrainage, noundraughtsman, noundry-stone wall, noundry wall, nounduckboards, noundustsheet, nounembankment, nounerect, verberection, nounfence, verbfencing, nounfiberboard, nounfibreboard, nounfloor plan, nounfoundation, noungantry, noungatepost, noungirder, noungreenfield site, nounhalf-timbered, adjectivehard hat, nounhod, nounhousing association, nounhousing project, nounjackhammer, nounjib, nounjoist, nounkeystone, nounlath, nounleading, nounmansard, nounmortar, nounpanelling, nounpanel pin, nounpave, verbpavement, nounpebbledash, nounpier, nounpile driver, nounplank, nounplanking, nounplaster, nounplaster, verbplasterboard, nounplasterer, nounplate glass, nounpoint, verbPortakabin, nounprime, verbprimer, nounproperty developer, nounputty, nounquantity surveyor, nounrebuild, verbreconstruct, verbreconstruction, nounrefurbish, verbreinforced concrete, nounrendering, nounrenovate, verbrevetment, nounroof, nounroof, verbroofing, nounrooftop, nounrubble, nounsand, verbsandstone, nounsaw, verbscaffold, nounscaffolding, nounshovel, nounsite, nounskip, nounslab, nounslate, nounspan, verbstarter home, nounsteam shovel, nounstilt, nounstucco, nounsurface, verbsuspension bridge, nounthatch, nounthatched, adjectivetile, nountile, verbtiling, nountimber, nountopcoat, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES► gravel/sand/chalk pit
PhrasesPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► bury your head in the sand
to make a surface smooth by rubbing it with sandpaper or using a special piece of equipment- If you bury your head in the sand now, you may lose your house.
- You'll never solve your problems if you just bury your head in the sand -- you have to face them.