cairn
noun
ˈkern 
: a heap of stones piled up as a memorial or as a landmark
cairned
ˈkernd
adjective 
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web There, in a summit rock cairn, David placed the ashes of his father and his mother, Laura, who had joined Robert on several trips to the Valley of 10,000 Smokes. 
Ned Rozell, Anchorage Daily News, 16 July 2022 Additionally, the ancient stone cairn of the monument continues unbroken along the southern side of the structure, Thomas said. Megan Marples, CNN, 11 July 2022 In a touching thread, Pietro revisits a cairn on a mountain path where climbers sign a book nestled in the stones. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 May 2022 The team made the find at Tresness, a chambered cairn on the Orkney island of Sanday that dates to around 3500 B.C.E. Livia Gershon, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Sep. 2021 Gunnell had suggested Maeshowe, a Neolithic chambered cairn on the island of Orkney, as a reference for the location. Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2022 The cross atop a stone cairn in Grytviken on the island of South Georgia is a memorial to Shackleton. New York Times, 18 Mar. 2022 Fit families can extend the hike to create a five-mile loop tracing Tenaya Creek, past a decorative cairn field, across two bridges, and back along the south side of Tenaya Canyon. Ashley M. Biggers, Outside Online, 28 Aug. 2014 Acadia National Park has a unique stone trail marker—the Bates cairn, named for Waldron Bates, who, like George Dorr, specialized in path making on MDI in the early 20th century. Virginia M. Wright, Outside Online, 8 Feb. 2021 See More
Ned Rozell, Anchorage Daily News, 16 July 2022 Additionally, the ancient stone cairn of the monument continues unbroken along the southern side of the structure, Thomas said. Megan Marples, CNN, 11 July 2022 In a touching thread, Pietro revisits a cairn on a mountain path where climbers sign a book nestled in the stones. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 May 2022 The team made the find at Tresness, a chambered cairn on the Orkney island of Sanday that dates to around 3500 B.C.E. Livia Gershon, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Sep. 2021 Gunnell had suggested Maeshowe, a Neolithic chambered cairn on the island of Orkney, as a reference for the location. Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2022 The cross atop a stone cairn in Grytviken on the island of South Georgia is a memorial to Shackleton. New York Times, 18 Mar. 2022 Fit families can extend the hike to create a five-mile loop tracing Tenaya Creek, past a decorative cairn field, across two bridges, and back along the south side of Tenaya Canyon. Ashley M. Biggers, Outside Online, 28 Aug. 2014 Acadia National Park has a unique stone trail marker—the Bates cairn, named for Waldron Bates, who, like George Dorr, specialized in path making on MDI in the early 20th century. Virginia M. Wright, Outside Online, 8 Feb. 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
Middle English (Scots) carne, from Scottish Gaelic carn; akin to Old Irish & Welsh carn cairn
First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing cairn
cairns
noun
as in piles
a small quantity of stones heaped together that usually marks a place A cairn of loose stones marked the site. Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- piles
- mounds
- stacks
- barrows
- heaps
- mountains
- hills
- landmarks
- markers
- pyramids
- cocks
- pyres
- collections
- banks
- layers
- beds
- jumbles
- embankments
- groupings
- hoards
- ricks
- drifts
- accumulations
- aggregates
- assemblages
- bars
- arrays
- gatherings
- knots
- conglomerations
- pileups
- mows
- huddles