flotsam

[ flot-suh m ]
/ ˈflɒt səm /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR flotsam ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the part of the wreckage of a ship and its cargo found floating on the water. Compare jetsam, lagan.
material or refuse floating on water.
useless or unimportant items; odds and ends.
a vagrant, penniless population: the flotsam of the city slums in medieval Europe.
Also called flotsam and jetsam (for defs 3, 4).

Origin of flotsam

1600–10; < Anglo-French floteson, derivative of floter to float < Old English flotian

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH flotsam

flotsam jetsam

Words nearby flotsam

flotation tank, flote grass, flotel, flotilla, flotow, flotsam, flotsam and jetsam, flotus, flounce, flouncing, flouncy

Words related to flotsam

cargo, junk, wreckage, jetsam

Example sentences from the Web for flotsam

British Dictionary definitions for flotsam

flotsam
/ (ˈflɒtsəm) /

noun

wreckage from a ship found floating Compare jetsam (def. 1), lagan
useless or discarded objects; odds and ends (esp in the phrase flotsam and jetsam)
vagrants

Word Origin for flotsam

C16: from Anglo-French floteson, from floter to float