From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishflotsamflot‧sam /ˈflɒtsəm $ ˈflɑː-/ noun [uncountable] 1 DNbroken pieces of wood and other things from a wrecked ship, floating in the sea or scattered on the shore He would walk along the beach collecting the flotsam and jetsam that had been washed ashore.2 things that people no longer want and so throw away works of art made from the flotsam and jetsam of everyday life3 POORpeople who are very poor and do not have jobs or homes Camps were set up to shelter the flotsam and jetsam of the war.
Examples from the Corpus
flotsam• Was Sylvian still out there, floating with the galleons and flotsam?• He unlatched his web again and swam about the cockpit, fielding flotsam.• the plastic foam flotsam of fast-food restaurants• He bobbed like happy flotsam on the warm sea of life.• But there was no suspicious heap lying grounded in the shallows, no flotsam or jetsam at all.• There were very large predators, too, swimming beneath the scattered dandruff of flotsam.• We are merely entering the second stage of a long voyage with some of the flotsam discarded.flotsam and jetsam• The beaches are wide and filled with interesting flotsam and jetsam from shells and seaweed to bits of broken fish boxes.• On its Gulf side, the collection of flotsam and jetsam could still be found.• The sparkling fresh water and grassy banks being sullied twice daily by the flotsam and jetsam of the Severn.flotsam and jetsam• The beaches are wide and filled with interesting flotsam and jetsam from shells and seaweed to bits of broken fish boxes.• On its Gulf side, the collection of flotsam and jetsam could still be found.• The sparkling fresh water and grassy banks being sullied twice daily by the flotsam and jetsam of the Severn.flotsam and jetsam• The beaches are wide and filled with interesting flotsam and jetsam from shells and seaweed to bits of broken fish boxes.• On its Gulf side, the collection of flotsam and jetsam could still be found.• The sparkling fresh water and grassy banks being sullied twice daily by the flotsam and jetsam of the Severn.Origin flotsam (1600-1700) Anglo-French floteson, from Old French floter “to float” 