Debris vs. Remains

Rubble, wreckage, scattered remains of something destroyed.

Litter and discarded refuse.

The ruins of a broken-down structure

(geology) Large rock fragments left by a melting glacier etc.

Broken and detached fragments, taken collectively; especially, fragments detached from a rock or mountain, and piled up at the base.

Rubbish, especially such as results from the destruction of anything; remains; ruins.

the remains of something that has been destroyed or broken up

scattered pieces of rubbish or remains

Example: ‘workmen were clearing the roads of the debris from shattered buildings’; ‘leaves and garden debris’;

loose natural material consisting especially of broken pieces of rock

Example: ‘a stable arrangement of planets, comets, and debris orbiting the sun’;

Debris (UK: , US: ) is rubble, wreckage, ruins, litter and discarded garbage/refuse/trash, scattered remains of something destroyed, discarded, or as in geology, large rock fragments left by a melting glacier etc. Depending on context, debris can refer to a number of different things.

What is left after a person (or any organism) dies; a corpse.

Example: ‘They buried the remains of their longtime friend in the town cemetery.’; ‘The victim's remains were one small piece of bone.’;

Historical or archaeological relics.

The extant writings of a deceased person.

Example: ‘To his great intellectual powers his published remains bear abundant witness.’;

All that is left of the stock of some things; remnants.

Example: ‘He couldn't bring himself to eat the remains of the chicken dinner.’;

(rare) lang=en

any object that is left unused or still extant;

Example: ‘I threw out the remains of my dinner’;

the dead body of a human being