Meanings
- uncountablegeographyA geological deposit of clay, often full of large stones and boulders, which is formed out of the ground moraine material of glaciers and ice-sheets.
The geological formation here is boulder clay and lias, and the original intention to keep the railway in open cutting had to be abandoned, as this would have resulted in 90 ft. deep walls through unstable terrain.
1959 June, J. F. Oxley, D. R. Smith, “The Nottingham-Kettering line of the L.M.R.”, in Trains Illustrated, page 319
Synonyms & antonyms
noununstratified soil deposited by a glacier; consists of sand and clay and gravel and boulders mixed together
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Cite this entry
boulder clay. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boulder%20clay
“boulder clay.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boulder%20clay. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “boulder clay,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boulder%20clay.
Source: boulder clay on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.