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Definition of "sedimentary" [sed•i•men•ta•ry]

  • Of, containing, resembling, or derived from sediment. (adjective)
  • Geology Of or relating to rocks formed by the deposition of sediment. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "sedimentary" in a sentence
  • "The column is deposited only in sedimentary environments, where conditions favor the accumulation of sediments."
  • "Fossils preserved in sedimentary rocks will display that era's primary forms, reflective of that era's ecology and life's adaptations to best exploit it."
  • "But today oil companies are capable of drilling only as deep as six miles, and this in sedimentary rock; in igneous and metamorphic rock, drill bits have so far penetrated only two miles."