26984 words

quicksand

3 definitions • 5 examples
1
deep wet sand that sucks in anyone trying to walk across it, or an area of sand like this:

Examples:

It took 50 rescuers two hours to free a runner who got stuck in quicksand.
Surveys had failed to reveal stretches of quicksand and deep clay.
The bay has some of the world's most dangerous quicksands .
2
a situation, especially one that is unpleasant to deal with, that is very difficult for someone to get out of:

Examples:

The country had managed to extract itself from the quicksand at last.
I seemed to be floundering deeper and deeper into the most lethal of social quicksands .
3
a mass of wet sand into which people and objects can sink

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