as in pile
a small quantity of stones heaped together that usually marks a place
A cairn of loose stones marked the site.
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cairn
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
According to the park service, cairns are most commonly used to designate hiking routes.
—Alexandra E. Petri, Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2023
See All Example Sentences for cairn
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
According to the park service, cairns are most commonly used to designate hiking routes.
—Alexandra E. Petri, Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2023
See All Example Sentences for cairn
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cairn
Noun
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The trestle will require the installation of some 1,200 36-inch steel piles covering an area of 400,000 square feet with the top of the pile being 10 feet above the Patapsco’s mean high-water line, according to the Army Corps.—
Michelle Deal-Zimmerman,
Baltimore Sun,
7 Mar. 2025
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Walmart's push shows how rising geopolitical tensions are set to reshape global supply chains and pile pressure on U.S. consumers already grappling with cost-of-living stresses.—
arkansasonline.com,
arkansasonline.com,
7 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The pavement has been dug up by the Israeli military’s D-9 bulldozers – mounds of asphalt and dirt piled up on the sides of roads, often pouring into shops and homes.—
Jeremy Diamond,
CNN,
28 Feb. 2025
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Now that Alcantara is healthy and back on the mound, he's shown that his arm is doing perfectly fine.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
28 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Join 376 others in the comments View Comments Entertainer Kid Rock posted a video of himself shooting a stack of Bud Light cases.—
Nathaniel Meyersohn,
CNN,
28 Feb. 2025
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But there were a number of vital steps in between those basic actions for astro stacks that proved either fiddly or time consuming, or both.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
28 Feb. 2025
Noun
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In 2021, more than 200 people died after part of a glacier collapsed in Uttarakhand, carrying a deadly mixture of ice, rock and water that tore through a mountain gorge and crashed through a dam.—
Kathleen Magramo and Esha Mitra,
CNN,
4 Mar. 2025
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Key Ingredients: Bolivian mountain salt, papaya enzymes, prickly pear extract Best For: Getting rid of scalp build-up, sans residue.—
Arden Fanning Andrews,
Vogue,
4 Mar. 2025
Articles Related to cairn
Cite this Entry
“Cairn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cairn. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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