What does quicksand mean?

Definitions for quicksand
ˈkwɪkˌsændquick·sand

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word quicksand.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. quicksandnoun

    a treacherous situation that tends to entrap and destroy

  2. quicksandnoun

    a pit filled with loose wet sand into which objects are sucked down

Wiktionary

  1. quicksandnoun

    Wet sand that things readily sink in, often found near rivers or coasts

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

  2. quicksandnoun

    Anything that pulls one down or buries one metaphorically

    The quicksands of youth...

  3. Etymology: From quyksande, from cwecesand, from kwikwaz + samdaz, equivalent to. Cognate with kwikzand, Quicksand, kwiksandur, kviksyndi. More at quick, sand.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Quicksandnoun

    Moving sand; unsolid ground.

    Etymology: quick and sand.

    What is Edward, but a ruthless sea?
    What Clarence, but a quicksand of deceit? William Shakespeare.

    Undergirding the ship, and fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, they strake sail, and so were driven. Acts xxvii.

    But when the vessel is on quicksands cast,
    The flowing tide does more the sinking haste. Dryden.

    Trajan, by the adoption of Nerva, stems the tide to her relief, and like another Neptune shoves her off the quicksands. Joseph Addison, on Ancient Medals.

    I have marked out several of the shoals and quicksands of life, in order to keep the unwary from running upon them. Addison.

Wikipedia

  1. Quicksand

    Quicksand is a colloid consisting of fine granular material (such as sand, silt or clay) and water. It forms in saturated loose sand when the sand is suddenly agitated. When water in the sand cannot escape, it creates a liquefied soil that loses strength and cannot support weight. Quicksand can form in standing water or in upward flowing water (as from an artesian spring). In the case of upward flowing water, forces oppose the force of gravity and suspend the soil particles. The saturated sediment may appear quite solid until a sudden change in pressure or shock initiates liquefaction. This causes the sand to form a suspension and lose strength. The cushioning of water gives quicksand, and other liquefied sediments, a spongy, fluid-like texture. Objects in liquefied sand sink to the level at which the weight of the object is equal to the weight of the displaced soil/water mix and the submerged object floats due to its buoyancy. Soil liquefaction may occur in partially saturated soil when it is shaken by an earthquake or similar forces. The movement combined with an increase in pore pressure (of groundwater) leads to the loss of particle cohesion, causing buildings or other objects on that surface to sink.

ChatGPT

  1. quicksand

    Quicksand is a natural phenomenon of a mixture of fine sand, clay, and salt water which appears solid but can behave like a liquid under stress or vibration. It is created when water saturates sandy or loose soil, causing it to lose its stability. This makes it a treacherous surface that can swallow heavy objects or individuals who step onto it, causing them to sink. However, contrary to popular myth, quicksand is not usually deep enough to completely swallow a person.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Quicksandnoun

    sand easily moved or readily yielding to pressure; especially, a deep mass of loose or moving sand mixed with water, sometimes found at the mouth of a river or along some coasts, and very dangerous, from the difficulty of extricating a person who begins sinking into it

Wikidata

  1. Quicksand

    Quicksand is a colloid hydrogel consisting of fine granular material, clay, and water. Quicksand forms in saturated loose sand when the sand is suddenly agitated. When water in the sand cannot escape, it creates a liquefied soil that loses strength and cannot support weight. Quicksand can form in standing water or in upwards flowing water. In the case of upwards flowing water, seepage forces oppose the force of gravity and suspend the soil particles. The saturated sediment may appear quite solid until a sudden change in pressure or shock initiates liquefaction. This causes the sand to form a suspension and lose strength. The cushioning of water gives quicksand, and other liquefied sediments, a spongy, fluidlike texture. Objects in liquefied sand sink to the level at which the weight of the object is equal to the weight of the displaced soil/water mix and the submerged object floats due to its buoyancy. Liquefaction is a special case of quicksand. In this case, sudden earthquake forces immediately increases the pore pressure of shallow groundwater. The saturated liquefied soil loses strength, causing buildings or other objects on that surface to sink or fall over.

The Nuttall Encyclopedia

  1. Quicksand

    sandbank so saturated with water that it gives way under pressure; found near the mouths of rivers.

Suggested Resources

  1. quicksand

    Song lyrics by quicksand -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by quicksand on the Lyrics.com website.

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of quicksand in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of quicksand in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of quicksand in a Sentence

  1. Hannah More:

    Luxury! more perilous to youth than storms or quicksand, poverty or chains.

  2. George Sands:

    Vanity is the quicksand of reason.

  3. Aaron McQ:

    It's like waking up every morning in quicksand, it's terrifying.

  4. Richard Feynman:

    The real question of government versus private enterprise is argued on too philosophical and abstract a basis. Theoretically, planning may be good. But nobody has ever figured out the cause of government stupidity and until they do (and find the cure) all ideal plans will fall into quicksand.

  5. Art Buchwald:

    I worship the quicksand he walks in.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

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Translations for quicksand

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"quicksand." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 Nov. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/quicksand>.

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