sand grain
Tiny beach bit
A sand grain is a single particle of sand—a tiny fragment of rock, mineral, or shell worn down by weathering.
The term emphasizes the individual unit rather than the collective mass: Each sand grain on this beach has traveled thousands of miles.
Sand grains vary in size and composition, from quartz crystals to volcanic glass to coral fragments.
- particleMinute piece of matter
- silicaSilicon dioxide compound
- gritDetermination or abrasive particles
- speckMinute visible particle
- hourglassGravity-powered sand timer
zen garden · desert wind · shore · tiny · coarse · fine grit · fine · quartz · granule · sediment · windblown · abrasive · sift · slip through fingers · texture · erosion · crystal · dust
- foreign bodiessplinter, glass shard, fish bone, bullet, shrapnel
- sanddunes, erg, grit, silica, quartz
- sandy shoresandcastle, dune, seashell, driftwood, footprint
- tiny bitsdots, dot, spots, spot, specks
- microhabitatsmicrohabitat, tree hollows, tide pool, rock crevices, leaf litter
- particleselectrons, electron, protons, proton, neutrons