sænd n. & v. --n. 1 a
loose granular substance resulting
from the wearing down of
esp. siliceous rocks
and found on the
seashore, river-beds, deserts, etc. 2 (in pl.) grains of sand. 3 (in pl.) an
expanse or tracts of sand. 4 a
light yellow-brown
colour like
that of sand. 5 (in pl.) a
sandbank. 6 US colloq. firmness of
purpose;
grit. --v.tr. 1
smooth or
polish with sandpaper or sand. 2
sprinkle or overlay with, or
bury under, sand. 3
adulterate (sugar etc.) with sand. øsand bar a sandbank at the
mouth of a
river or US on the
coast. sand-bath a
vessel of
heated sand to
provide uniform heating. sand-bed a
stratum of sand. sand-cloud driving sand in a
simoom. sand-crack 1 a
fissure in a horse's
hoof. 2 a
crack in the
human foot from
walking on
hot sand. 3 a crack in
brick due to
imperfect mixing. sand
dollar US
any of
various round flat
sea urchins, esp. of the
order Clypeasteroida. sand-dune (or -hill) a mound or
ridge of sand formed by the wind. sand
eel any eel-like fish of the
family Ammodytidae or Hypotychidae:
also called
LAUNCE. sand-flea a
chigoe or sand-hopper. sand-glass =
HOURGLASS. sand-groper
Austral. 1 a gold-rush
pioneer. 2 joc. a
Western Australian. sand-hill a
dune. sand-hopper any of various
small jumping crustaceans of the order Amphipoda, burrowing on the seashore. sand-martin a swallow-like
bird, Riparia riparia, nesting in the
side of a
sandy bank etc. the sands are
running out the allotted
time is
nearly at an
end. sand-shoe a
shoe with a
canvas, rubber,
hemp,
etc., sole
for use on sand. sand-skipper = sand-hopper. sand-yacht a
boat on wheels propelled
along a
beach by wind. øøsander n. sandlike adj. [OE sand f. Gmc]