Sand is made of tiny pieces of rock. You can find sand on the beach or in deserts. It feels rough and dry.
The children played with sand at the beach.
We walked on soft sand by the river.
Sand is sometimes sold by weight or volume. Builders use sand to make concrete or fix things. It helps the construction work.
He bought two bags of sand for the garden.
We need sand to mix with cement.
To sand means to rub something with rough material. This makes the surface smooth or clean. People sand wood or metal before painting.
He sands the wood before painting it.
They sand the table to make it smooth.
Sand in an hourglass shows time passing. The grains fall from top to bottom. People use it to measure short times or as a timer.
The sand runs out in one minute on the timer.
She watched the sand fall slowly in the glass.
Some cleaning products have very small sand-like grains. They help remove dirt from skin or teeth by rubbing gently.
This soap has sand to clean your hands well.
The toothpaste with sand helps remove stains.
As a verb in slang, to sand someone means to bother or annoy them a lot. It is informal and used mostly in spoken English.
Stop sanding me about the homework, please!
He sanded his boss until he got a raise.
Sand can be used to make slippery places safe or to help cool hot objects. It is spread on surfaces to improve grip or clean tools.
He spread sand on the icy sidewalk to prevent falls.
The blacksmith used sand to cool the hot metal.
In informal speech, sand means having strong courage or nerve. It is used to say someone is brave or determined.
She has the sand to try new things.
It takes sand to stand up to a bully.
