Quicksand

//ˈkwɪkˌsænd// noun

noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Wet sand that appears firm but in which things readily sink, often found near rivers or coasts. countable, uncountable

    "My feet were firmly lodged in the quicksand, and the more I struggled the more I sank into it."

  2. 2
    a pit filled with loose wet sand into which objects are sucked down wordnet
  3. 3
    Anything that metaphorically pulls one down or buries one; a treacherous, risky danger countable, figuratively, uncountable

    "the quicksands of youth"

  4. 4
    a treacherous situation that tends to entrap and destroy wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
baygallbindbogbottombottomlandbottoms

Example

More examples

"If you find yourself in quicksand you'll sink more slowly if you don't move."

Etymology

From Middle English quyksande, from Old English cwecesand (“quicksand”), equivalent to quick (“living”) + sand. Cognate with Swedish kvicksand (“quicksand”), Icelandic kviksandur, kviksyndi (“quicksand”). More at quick, sand.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.