From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsandsand1 /sænd/ ●●● S3 W3 noun 1 HEG[uncountable] a substance consisting of very small pieces of rocks and minerals, that forms beaches and deserts a mixture of sand and cement I have sand in my shoe.2 [countable, uncountable]SG an area of beach miles of golden sands We were just sitting on the sand.3 → the sands of timeTHESAURUS – Meanings 1 & 2sand a substance that forms beaches and deserts, or an area of this substancesunbathers lying on the sandHe could see several small figures out on the sands. beach an area of sand or small stones at the edge of the sea or a lakethe island's golden beachesHow about a day at the beach?a pebble beachdesert a large area of land where it is always very hot and dry, and there is a lot of sandthe Sahara desertThey crossed the desert by camel. dune/sand dune a hill made of sand near the sea or in the desertWe went for a long walk along the dunes. The dunes are home to a wide variety of birds and plants.
Examples from the Corpus
sand• Everything about it was grey-brown - houses, donkeys, sand and peasants' heavy robes.• It is possible that the reactors will never be demolished, but will be buried in mounds of sand or gravel.• Just little puffs of sand in the short grass.• As they ran over the pulleys, a slurry of sand or tungsten carbide was poured on the wire.• The neighbors' children played happily in the sand.• You will notice phrases like crocodile tears, the elephant never forgets, and the ostrich burying its head in the sand.• Wet sand can be moulded, whilst dry sand is much more elusive.• All-terrain-vehicle tracks cross the white sand in the bed of the North Fork of the Red.• Here the effects of the weather - snow, wind, sand, rain and fog - are shown.sandsand2 (also sand down) verb [intransitive, transitive] TBCto make a surface smooth by rubbing it with sandpaper or using a special piece of equipment→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
sand• The solvent type paint removers do not normally raise the grain and it is not necessary to sand after stripping.• Any wood block floor will eventually need some maintenance by being sanded down and resealed.• The Unabomber, carefully sanding down his wooden bomb covers, would have been untouched by it.• Parts of the fairway had reverted to sand dune.• If it does need sanding, get this done and then give the scrub and wash treatment.• Instead of producing something his neighbors wanted, he dreamily sawed and sanded something utterly useless to them.Origin sand1 Old English 