sludge

/slədʒ/

/slədʒ/

Other forms: sludges

Sludge is thick, damp, almost sticky stuff. If your friend dares you to climb through an old sewer pipe, you might want to check first to see if it's full of sludge.

Sludge is often used to talk about the byproduct of a process like sewage treatment or oil refining, but you can use it for any viscous goop. Sludge floating in your fish tank is a sign that you should clean the water, and sludge inside a car's engine can affect the way the car runs. Sludge is a bit of a mystery — it may come from the Middle English slutch, "mud," or might be related to slush.

Definitions of sludge

1. noun

   any thick, viscous matter
   synonyms: goo, gook, goop, guck, gunk, muck, ooze, slime

   types:

   sapropel

   sludge (rich in organic matter) that accumulates at the bottom of lakes or oceans

   type of:

   matter

   that which has mass and occupies space
2. noun

   the precipitate produced by sewage treatment
   type of:

   precipitate

   a precipitated solid substance in suspension or after settling or filtering