sand

noun

1. (uncountable, usually)Rock that is ground more finely than gravel, but is not as fine as silt (more formally, see grain sizes chart), forming beaches and deserts and also used in construction.

   “For a spell we done pretty well. Then there came a reg'lar terror of a sou'wester same as you don't get one summer in a thousand, and blowed the shanty flat and ripped about half of the weir poles out of the sand.”

   ““We are addicted to sand but don’t know it because we don’t buy it as individuals,” says Aurora Torres, […]”

   “China’s hunger for sand is insatiable, its biggest dredging site at Lake Poyang produces 989,000 tonnes per day.”

2. (countable, usually)Rock that is ground more finely than gravel, but is not as fine as silt (more formally, see grain sizes chart), forming beaches and deserts and also used in construction.

   “One sand was that used in cement testing with white well rounded smooth grains, passing through a 20-mesh sieve and retained on a 30-mesh sieve. The other was ordinary brown building sand, passing 40-mesh and retained on 60-mesh.”

3. (countable, in-plural, often, usually)Rock that is ground more finely than gravel, but is not as fine as silt (more formally, see grain sizes chart), forming beaches and deserts and also used in construction.

   “The Canadian tar sands are a promising source of oil.”

   “From east and south the danger was to be expected. Not from the uninhabited northern desert, not from the desolate sands of the unknown west, would it come.”

4. (dated, uncountable, usually)Personal courage.

   “You may say what you want to, but in my opinion she had more sand in her than any girl I ever see; in my opinion she was just full of sand.”

   “He said, “I admire your sand but I believe you will find I am not liable for such claims. Let me say too that your valuation of the horse is high by about two hundred dollars.””

   “There was youngsters all around him, and he stood there lookin’ at me and never turned a hair. He had sand, that Morrell.”

5. (uncountable, usually)A particle from 62.5 microns to 2 mm in diameter, following the Wentworth scale.
6. (uncountable, usually)A light beige colour, like that of typical sand.
7. (countable, obsolete, usually)A single grain of sand.

   “One sand another. Not more resembles that sweet rosy lad”

8. (countable, figuratively, usually)A moment or interval of time; the term or extent of one's life (referring to the sand in an hourglass).

   “The sands are numbered that make up my life.”

   “Cf. sands of time (idiom)”

   “[…] And, departing, leave behind us / Footprints on the sands of time […]”

9. (uncountable, usually)Dried mucus in the eye's inner corner, perhaps left from sleep (sleepy sand).

   “Sleep in your eyes, sleep crust, sand, eye gunk—whatever you call it, we all get it—that crusty stuff in the corners of your eyes when you wake up in the morning. "The medical term is 'rheum,' though you rarely hear it used," […]”

10. (figuratively, uncountable, usually)Dried mucus in the eye's inner corner, perhaps left from sleep (sleepy sand).

    “Cf. Sandman, a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes.”

11. (uncountable, usually)Dried mucus in the eye's inner corner, perhaps left from sleep (sleepy sand).

    “Cf. “Sand in My Eyes”, in TV Tropes, 1 March 2023 (last accessed): “Alternative Title(s): Something In My Eye””

12. (abbreviation, alt-of, colloquial, ellipsis)Ellipsis of sandpiper.

adj

1. Of a light beige colour, like that of typical sand.

verb

1. (transitive)To abrade the surface of (something) with sand or sandpaper in order to smooth or clean it.
2. (transitive)To cover with sand.

   “Sudden stopping, which could be effected easily by sanding the rails and reversing the driving-gear, was dangerous, because the train might telescope and overwhelm the engine.”

   “The golden domes of churches and the freshly sanded paths in the town gardens were a glaring yellow.”

3. (historical, transitive)To blot ink using sand.

   “The officer wrote until he had finished, read over to himself what he had written, sanded it, and handed it to Defarge, with the words "In secret."”