as in pile
a small quantity of stones heaped together that usually marks a place
A cairn of loose stones marked the site.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cairn
China’s vast coal mountain looks like just such a cairn, to mark a peak our planet’s climate will be glad to see the back of.
—
David Fickling, Twin Cities, 11 Sep. 2024
Most of what remains of the historic General Crook Trail are eroding two tracks, toppled rock cairns, tree blazes, a few telegraph insulators and roadside monuments.
—Mare Czinar, The Arizona Republic, 18 Apr. 2024
Last year alone, vandals sprayed red paint on trees, rocks and cairns at Acadia National Park; smashed windows and kicked in doors at Mammoth Cave National Park; and damaged the historic church at San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Apr. 2024
Narrow passages lead into these cairns, which hold several tombs.
—Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 27 Mar. 2024
See All Example Sentences for cairn
David Fickling, Twin Cities, 11 Sep. 2024
Most of what remains of the historic General Crook Trail are eroding two tracks, toppled rock cairns, tree blazes, a few telegraph insulators and roadside monuments.
—Mare Czinar, The Arizona Republic, 18 Apr. 2024
Last year alone, vandals sprayed red paint on trees, rocks and cairns at Acadia National Park; smashed windows and kicked in doors at Mammoth Cave National Park; and damaged the historic church at San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Apr. 2024
Narrow passages lead into these cairns, which hold several tombs.
—Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 27 Mar. 2024
See All Example Sentences for cairn
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cairn
Noun
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Listen to this article Outside of the typical deviled eggs, carrot cake and piles of candy known to come with Easter, San Diego’s restaurants have more to offer.—
Abby Hamblin,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
31 Mar. 2025
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Loading piles of frozen human body part produce onto the conveyor belt, Jackie begins taunting Shauna about what her life has amounted to back in civilization.—
Abby Monteil,
Them.,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Yoshinobu Yamamoto will be on the mound for Los Angeles, with Jesus Luzardo on the hill for Philadelphia.—
Newsweek Staff,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Apr. 2025
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Sosa and Johan Rojas started because the opponent had a lefty on the mound.—
Matt Gelb,
New York Times,
3 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Your guests, in fact, don’t care that there is a stack of magazines on the coffee table!—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
4 Apr. 2025
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Panelists stressed the importance of consolidating fragmented tech stacks to ensure seamless interactions from browsing to purchase.—
Tyler Shepherd,
USA Today,
4 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The stand-up star celebrated the major milestone on Feb. 25 by skiing down a mountain in nothing but a red bikini, with a large group of women also sporting bathing suits in the snow.—
Becca Longmire,
People.com,
28 Mar. 2025
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Measurements officials have taken at about 260 sites across the Sierra show that the northern mountains have more snow than the southern areas.—
Melody Petersen,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cairn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cairn. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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