debris

B1 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /dəˈbɹiː/ UK /ˈdɛbɹi/ See IPA manual

Freq #8085

Meanings

1

noun
Scattered broken pieces left after something is destroyed or breaks apart.

Rescue workers searched through the debris of the collapsed building.
2

noun
Rubbish or litter scattered around, especially in nature.

The beach was covered with plastic debris washed up by the tide.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · scattered broken pieces... detritus junk wreckage

2 noun · rubbish or litter scattered... garbage junk litter

More remains rubbish rubble ruins

Word family

Derived forms biodebrisdebritepalynodebris

Related forms broken trash

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

organic debris
loose waste or remains derived from living things

Adjective + noun

Etymology

Borrowed from French débris, itself from dé- (“de-”) + bris (“broken, crumbled”), or from Middle French debriser (“to break apart”), from Old French debrisier, itself from de- + brisier (“to break apart, shatter, bust”), from Frankish *bristijan, *bristan, *brestan (“to break violently, shatter, bust”), from Proto-Germanic *brestaną (“to break, burst”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrest- (“to separate, burst”). Cognate with Old High German bristan (“to break asunder, burst”), Old English berstan (“to break, shatter, burst”), German bersten (“to burst”). More at burst.

debriser Middle French debrisier Old French *bristijan frk *brestaną Proto-Germanic *bʰrest- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# debris

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /dəˈbɹiː/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈdɛbɹi/
**Frequency rank:** 8085

## Meanings
1. Scattered broken pieces left after something is destroyed or breaks apart.
2. Rubbish or litter scattered around, especially in nature.

## Examples
- Rescue workers searched through the debris of the collapsed building.
- The beach was covered with plastic debris washed up by the tide.

## Synonyms
- detritus
- remains
- rubbish
- rubble
- ruins
- wreckage

## Derived Forms
- biodebris
- debrite
- palynodebris

## Related Forms
- broken
- trash

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: debriser
- Root: debrisier
- Root: *bristijan
- Root: *brestaną
- Root: *bʰrest-

## Etymology
Borrowed from French débris, itself from dé- (“de-”) + bris (“broken, crumbled”), or from Middle French debriser (“to break apart”), from Old French debrisier, itself from de- + brisier (“to break apart, shatter, bust”), from Frankish *bristijan, *bristan, *brestan (“to break violently, shatter, bust”), from Proto-Germanic *brestaną (“to break, burst”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrest- (“to separate, burst”). Cognate with Old High German bristan (“to break asunder, burst”), Old English berstan (“to break, shatter, burst”), German bersten (“to burst”). More at burst.

## AI Etymology
debris was borrowed from French débris, itself from dé- (“de-”) + bris (“broken, crumbled”), or from Middle French debriser (“to break apart”), from Old French debrisier, itself from de- + brisier (“to break apart, shatter, bust”), from Frankish *bristijan, *bristan, *brestan (“to break violently, shatter, bust”), from Proto-Germanic *brestaną (“to break, burst”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrest- (“to separate, burst”). Cognate with Old High German bristan (“to break asunder, burst”), Old English berstan (“to break, shatter, burst”), German bersten (“to burst”). More at burst. Current senses include Scattered broken pieces left after something is destroyed or breaks apart and Rubbish or litter scattered around, especially in nature. English relatives and later formations include biodebris, debrite, palynodebris, broken, trash.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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