A remnant is what's left over after most of something is gone. When you finish a sewing project, the remnants of fabric are the small pieces that didn't get used. After a big snowstorm melts away, you might find remnants of snow lingering in shady corners where the sun couldn't reach them.

The word often appears when describing pieces that remain from something larger or more complete. Archaeologists discover remnants of ancient civilizations: broken pottery, crumbled walls, or rusted tools that survived while everything else decayed. A forest fire might leave only remnants of trees standing as blackened trunks. After you eat most of a pizza, the last two slices are the remnants of your meal.

Remnant suggests something small compared to what existed before, but it can still matter. A remnant population of endangered animals, though tiny, might eventually recover and grow. The remnants of an old friendship might fade completely, or they might spark a renewed connection years later. Scientists study remnants of exploded stars to understand how the universe formed. Even though remnants are leftovers, they often tell important stories about what came before.