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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of flotsam
The flotsam of the internet is childish, ridiculous and, consequently, easy to underestimate.
—
Becca Rothfeld, Washington Post, 10 July 2024
Full of the flotsam and jetsam of everyday affairs.
—Maya Singer, Vogue, 1 July 2024
The headlamps of their truck illuminated little more than a wedge of flotsam.
—Paige Williams, The New Yorker, 17 June 2024
Living in White Plains, N.Y., in the 1980s, Mrs. Wallace galvanized a broad campaign to rescue the river, at the time an inaccessible 23-mile watercourse that was home to more flotsam, like the carcasses of junked cars and rusted refrigerators, than fauna.
—Sam Roberts, New York Times, 1 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for flotsam 
Becca Rothfeld, Washington Post, 10 July 2024
Full of the flotsam and jetsam of everyday affairs.
—Maya Singer, Vogue, 1 July 2024
The headlamps of their truck illuminated little more than a wedge of flotsam.
—Paige Williams, The New Yorker, 17 June 2024
Living in White Plains, N.Y., in the 1980s, Mrs. Wallace galvanized a broad campaign to rescue the river, at the time an inaccessible 23-mile watercourse that was home to more flotsam, like the carcasses of junked cars and rusted refrigerators, than fauna.
—Sam Roberts, New York Times, 1 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for flotsam
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flotsam
Noun
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Several carts loaded with household possessions travelled down a thoroughfare scattered with rubble and debris.—
Mohammed Salem,
USA TODAY,
20 Jan. 2025
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Today, stove tops jut out of the sand, mixing with glass bottles and pieces of debris scattered by Hurricane Beryl in July of 2024.—
Joe Sills,
Forbes,
19 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Many who have returned home since the ceasefire began have found only mounds of rubble. —Magdy reported from Cairo and Krauss from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.—
Wafaa Shurafa, Samy Magdy,
TIME,
27 Jan. 2025
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Those returning to their homes in recent days have frequently encountered only piles of rubble that remain.—
Willem Marx,
NPR,
26 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The area was so inaccessible by air and ground that the plane’s wreckage wasn’t discovered until 1999, 51 years later, thanks in part to the efforts of private searchers.—
Francine Uenuma,
Smithsonian Magazine,
23 Jan. 2025
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Singh — and others like him — are now grappling with how to live and work amid the wreckage.—
Sasha Hupka,
USA TODAY,
23 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near flotsam
Cite this Entry
“Flotsam.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flotsam. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.
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