scree
English
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scree¹
- /skɹiː/ UK
- /skɹi/ US
Rhymes with -iː
Where it comes from
Probably a back-formation from screes, from Old Norse skriða (“landslide, landslip”); compare skríða (“to glide”) (from Proto-Germanic *skrīþaną (“to crawl; to glide; to walk”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kreyt-, *(s)ker- (“to bend, turn”)). The word is cognate with Icelandic skriða (“avalanche; landslide, landslip; steep mountain- or hillside made up of gravel and loose rocks”).
noun screes
- Loose stony debris on a slope. To the north the towering scree-strewn slopes of Saddleback begin to draw nearer as we start the abrupt descent towards Keswick.
- Similar debris made up of broken building material such as bricks, concrete, etc. Acres of the industrial port had been reduced to desolation, half-walls, half-chimneys, crazy sticks of steel that looped up out of concrete scree. The temptation not to clear and rebuild must have been strong.
- A slope made up of scree at the base of a cliff, mountain, etc. The next landmark was an apachita 'cairn', at the top of a steep scree. Each pilgrim carried a stone to the summit, spat on it, and threw it on to the cairn — the purpose being, I was told, to relieve the soul of its sins […]
verb screes · screeing · screed
- To traverse scree downhill. We decided it would be fun to go down the face of the mountain screeing ("skiing" on scree).
scree²
- /skɹiː/ UK
- /skɹi/ US
Rhymes with -iː
Where it comes from
Onomatopoeic. However, some connection to a lost dialect term (Old Norse influence? cf. shriek, screech) from Old English sċrēon is not impossible.
noun screes
- A harsh, high-pitched sound or cry (as of a hawk). I think both of our hearts must have gone into overdrive when we heard the metallic scree of a door being rolled open and the men's voices that accompanied it.
verb screes · screeing · screed
- To make a high-pitched cry like that of a hawk. They smelled the land before they saw it. A rich, dark odor of sweet earth, coming at them through a misty rain. Then seabirds appeared, crying and screeing.
scree³
- /skɹiː/ UK
- /skɹi/ US
Rhymes with -iː
Where it comes from
A variant of screed.
verb screes · screeing · screed
- To flatten or level concrete while still wet, and remove protruding gravel and stones from the surface. The crushing and screeing equipment owned by the TVA was transferred from job to job, and the availability of this equipment was one of the factors in determining who would produce the aggregate.
scree⁴
- /skɹiː/ UK
- /skɹi/ US
Rhymes with -iː
Where it comes from
Apparently from screen.
noun screes
- A coarse sieve. A contract of lease was entered into between the pursuer, who is the proprietor of the estate of Bargaddie, on the one part, and William M'Creath and others, carrying on business under the firm of the Bargaddie Coal Company, on the other part, […] and the lessees becoming bound to pay to the pursuer
Translations
Every language
noun loose stony debris on a slope
| Español | canchal |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 岩屑堆 |
| Français | éboulis, pierrier, clapier |
| Deutsch | Schutt, Geröll |
| Italiano | ghiaione |
| Română | grohotiș |
| Русский | о́сыпь ósypʹ |
noun slope
| Español | pedregal |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Talus, Schutthalde, Geröllhalde |
noun broken building material
| Deutsch | Schutt |
|---|
verb traverse scree downhill
| Deutsch | abfahren |
|---|
Talk about this word "scree." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/scree. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. scree. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/scree "scree." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/scree.Cite this
@misc{scree_2026,
title = {scree},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/scree},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
