1 sand
Pronounced:
/ˈsænd/
Function:
nounInflected forms:
plural sandsMeaning:
1 [noncount] : the very tiny, loose pieces of rock that cover beaches, deserts, etc. ▪ The beaches are covered with pinkish sand. ▪ a grain of sand ▪ I have sand in my shoe. —see also quicksand
2 a [noncount] : an area of sand ▪ The children are playing in the sand. ▪ She walked across the hot sand. b sands [plural] literary : the beach or desert ▪ Tourists walked the sands. ▪ They journeyed across the (desert) sands.
2 a [noncount] : an area of sand ▪ The children are playing in the sand. ▪ She walked across the hot sand. b sands [plural] literary : the beach or desert ▪ Tourists walked the sands. ▪ They journeyed across the (desert) sands.
head in the sand —see 1head
shifting sands
—used to refer to changes that happen as time passes ▪ the shifting sands of war
the sands of time
—used to refer to the passage of time ▪ Many civilizations have been buried by the sands of time. [=many civilizations have been forgotten because of the passage of time]