flotsam

noun

flot·sam ˈflät-səm How to pronounce flotsam (audio)

: floating wreckage of a ship or its cargo

broadly : floating debris

flotsam washed up by the tide

: a floating population (as of emigrants or castaways)

human flotsam

: miscellaneous or unimportant material

a notebook filled with flotsam and jetsam

: debris, remains

the village … built on the flotsam of war

Stan Sesser

Did you know?

Flotsam and Jetsam Aren't Just Ursula's Eels

English speakers started using flotsam, jetsam, and lagan as legal terms in the 16th and 17th centuries (the earliest evidence of flotsam dates from around the early 1600s). The three words were used to establish claims of ownership to the three types of seaborne, vessel-originated goods they named. Flotsam was anything from a shipwreck (the word comes from Old French floter, meaning "to float"). Jetsam and lagan were items thrown overboard to lighten a ship. Lagan was distinguished from jetsam by having a buoy attached so the goods could be found if they sank. In the 19th century, when flotsam and jetsam took on extended meanings, they became synonyms, but they are still very often paired.

Example Sentences

flotsam washed up on the shore the dispirited family picked through the flotsam of their possessions after the hurricane, looking for anything that could be salvaged

Recent Examples on the Web The entire red flag approach will collapse under its own weight, taking down the goodness of the idea by allowing flotsam and riffraff to sink the entire ship.

Lance Eliot, Forbes, 29 June 2022 So, much of the industry’s flotsam and jetsam washes up in warehouses like this one, located off Interstate 81, a few exits from the President Biden Expressway in Scranton, the president’s hometown.

Michael Corkery, BostonGlobe.com, 30 July 2022 Its receding waters are leaving behind the usual flotsam and jetsam of a lake heavily trafficked by weekend boaters — and even exposing a ship dating back to World War II.

CBS News, 5 July 2022 From those pensive jigsaw puzzles, Scarbath shapes works of different textures from the flotsam and jetsam of everyday life: a shard of colored glass or a pebble that just caught her eye.

Mike Klingaman, Baltimore Sun, 29 June 2022 Beyond the vacuum’s reach, half a dozen blackbirds picked through the flotsam, while outside the boom, plastic bottles bobbed downstream.

New York Times, 14 June 2022 Many of her puppets—all handmade, some constructed out of pots and pans or other flotsam—are in the collection of the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh.

Susan Orlean, The New Yorker, 22 June 2022 All told, there are about 37,000 pieces of Gucci rarities, flotsam and priceless artifacts housed in the archives.

Robin Givhan, Washington Post, 15 Nov. 2021 Logs and branches sail downstream on the current, forming snags that catch more flotsam, stray fishing bobbers and tangled tree stumps, soggy old baseball caps.

Katie Arnold, Outside Online, 25 July 2014 See More

单词	flotsam
释义	flotsam noun flot·sam ˈflät-səm 1 : floating wreckage of a ship or its cargo broadly : floating debris flotsam washed up by the tide 2 a : a floating population (as of emigrants or castaways) human flotsam b : miscellaneous or unimportant material a notebook filled with flotsam and jetsam c : debris, remains the village … built on the flotsam of war Stan Sesser Did you know? Flotsam and Jetsam Aren't Just Ursula's Eels English speakers started using flotsam, jetsam, and lagan as legal terms in the 16th and 17th centuries (the earliest evidence of flotsam dates from around the early 1600s). The three words were used to establish claims of ownership to the three types of seaborne, vessel-originated goods they named. Flotsam was anything from a shipwreck (the word comes from Old French floter, meaning "to float"). Jetsam and lagan were items thrown overboard to lighten a ship. Lagan was distinguished from jetsam by having a buoy attached so the goods could be found if they sank. In the 19th century, when flotsam and jetsam took on extended meanings, they became synonyms, but they are still very often paired. Synonyms ashes debris detritus remains residue rubble ruins wreck wreckage See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences flotsam washed up on the shore the dispirited family picked through the flotsam of their possessions after the hurricane, looking for anything that could be salvaged Recent Examples on the Web The entire red flag approach will collapse under its own weight, taking down the goodness of the idea by allowing flotsam and riffraff to sink the entire ship. Lance Eliot, Forbes, 29 June 2022 So, much of the industry’s flotsam and jetsam washes up in warehouses like this one, located off Interstate 81, a few exits from the President Biden Expressway in Scranton, the president’s hometown. Michael Corkery, BostonGlobe.com, 30 July 2022 Its receding waters are leaving behind the usual flotsam and jetsam of a lake heavily trafficked by weekend boaters — and even exposing a ship dating back to World War II. CBS News, 5 July 2022 From those pensive jigsaw puzzles, Scarbath shapes works of different textures from the flotsam and jetsam of everyday life: a shard of colored glass or a pebble that just caught her eye. Mike Klingaman, Baltimore Sun, 29 June 2022 Beyond the vacuum’s reach, half a dozen blackbirds picked through the flotsam, while outside the boom, plastic bottles bobbed downstream. New York Times, 14 June 2022 Many of her puppets—all handmade, some constructed out of pots and pans or other flotsam—are in the collection of the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. Susan Orlean, The New Yorker, 22 June 2022 All told, there are about 37,000 pieces of Gucci rarities, flotsam and priceless artifacts housed in the archives. Robin Givhan, Washington Post, 15 Nov. 2021 Logs and branches sail downstream on the current, forming snags that catch more flotsam, stray fishing bobbers and tangled tree stumps, soggy old baseball caps. Katie Arnold, Outside Online, 25 July 2014 See More Word History Etymology Anglo-French floteson, from floter to float, of Germanic origin; akin to Old English flotian to float, flota ship First Known Use circa 1607, in the meaning defined at sense 1 Legal Definition flotsam noun flot·sam ˈflät-səm : floating wreckage of a ship or its cargo compare jetsam flotsam noun as in debris the portion or bits of something left over or behind after it has been destroyed the dispirited family picked through the flotsam of their possessions after the hurricane, looking for anything that could be salvaged Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance debris rubble wreckage remains ruins detritus remnant ashes wreck residue jetsam garbage junk leavings dust chaff litter rubbish dross trash refuse deadwood scrap waste riffraff
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flotsam

noun

Did you know?

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

Legal Definition

noun

noun