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
Ranger died in 1940 and was buried at the summit of Mount Hood, which is marked by a stone cairn and an engraved plaque.
—
Meira Gebel, Axios, 20 Sep. 2024
The trail can be confusing so keep an eye open for cairns and tree notches serving as trail markers.
—Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 18 Sep. 2024
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
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
See All Example Sentences for cairn
Meira Gebel, Axios, 20 Sep. 2024
The trail can be confusing so keep an eye open for cairns and tree notches serving as trail markers.
—Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 18 Sep. 2024
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
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
See All Example Sentences for cairn
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cairn
Noun
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But Amazon piles all the costs of holding sets and holding actors into [the Season 1] budget.—
Michael Ausiello,
Variety,
10 Apr. 2025
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The burn ban prohibits burning yard debris, land clearing, recreational fires and unauthorized piles of debris to reduce the wild-land fire threats and protect lives, property and natural resources.—
Orlando Sentinel Staff,
The Orlando Sentinel,
10 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Ohtani should find his way back to the mound at some point this season and reestablish himself as a dominant force, not only as a batter but also as a pitcher.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Apr. 2025
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With a left-hander on the mound, Oscar Gonzalez will start in left field and Yuli Gurriel will serve as the DH, sending Gavin Sheets to a pinch-hitting role.—
Jeff Sanders,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
15 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Unify different areas with a retaining wall Short stacks create just the right amount of separation.—
Katherine McLaughlin,
Architectural Digest,
18 Apr. 2025
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For instance, high bandwidth memory used with GPUs uses stacks of DRAM.—
Thomas Coughlin,
Forbes.com,
17 Apr. 2025
Noun
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John Shine described to me a research trip to the hostile mountain environs of Tasmania, where snakes stay under cover except for the 20 or 30 warm days each year.—
Stephen S. Hall,
Time,
21 Apr. 2025
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That’s because Prather’s lush pastures back up against a secluded mountain ridge running from nearby Mt. Shasta north to the Oregon border.—
Jack Dolan,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cairn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cairn. Accessed 25 Apr. 2025.
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