Adjacent Words

meteorite definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: stony or metallic object that is the remains of a meteoroid that has reached the earth's surface

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 1824 a meteor that reaches the surface of the earth without being completely vaporized • meteoritic also meteoritical adjective

Britannica Concise

Any interplanetary particle or chunk of stony or metallic matter (meteoroid) that survives passage through earth's atmosphere and strikes the ground, or reaches the surface of another planet or moon. The speed of entry--at least 7 mi/second (11 km/second)--generates enough friction with the air to vaporize the meteoroid and produce a streak of light (meteor). Though vast numbers of meteoroids enter the atmosphere each year, only a few hundred reach the ground.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. a fallen meteor, or fragment of natural rock or metal, that reaches the earth's surface from outer space. Derivatives: meteoritic adj.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Meteorite Me"te*or*ite, n. [Cf. F. m['e]t['e]orite.] (Min.) A mass of stone or iron which has fallen to the earth from space; an a["e]rolite. Note: Meteorites usually show a pitted surface with a fused crust, caused by the heat developed in their rapid passage through the earth's atmosphere. A meteorite may consist: 1. Of metallic iron, alloyed with a small percentage of nickel (meteoric iron, holosiderite). When etched this usually exhibits peculiar crystalline figures, called Widmanst["a]tten figures. 2. Of a cellular mass of iron with imbedded silicates (mesosiderite or siderolite). 3. Of a stony mass of silicates with little iron (meteoric stone, sporadosiderite). 4. Of a mass without iron (asiderite).

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(meteorites) A meteorite is a large piece of rock or metal from space that has landed on Earth. N-COUNT