Sand

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.
Phrases and idioms:
sand 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.
Derivatives:
sander n. sandlike adj.
Etymology: OE sand f. Gmc