basalt

American  

[buh-sawlt, bas-awlt, bey-sawlt] / bəˈsɔlt, ˈbæs ɔlt, ˈbeɪ sɔlt /

noun

1. the dark, dense igneous rock of a lava flow or minor intrusion, composed essentially of labradorite and pyroxene and often displaying a columnar structure.

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basalt British  

/ ˈbæsɔːlt /

noun

1. a fine-grained dark basic igneous rock consisting of plagioclase feldspar, a pyroxene, and olivine: the most common volcanic rock and usually extrusive See flood basalt

2. a form of black unglazed pottery resembling basalt

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basalt Scientific  

/ bə-sôlt′,bā′sôlt′ /

1. A dark, fine-grained, igneous rock consisting mostly of plagioclase feldspar and pyroxene, and sometimes olivine. Basalt makes up most of the ocean floor and is the most common type of lava. It sometimes cools into characteristic hexagonal columns, as in the Giant's Causeway in Anterim, Northern Island. It is the fine-grained equivalent of gabbro.

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basalt Cultural  

1. A hard, dense igneous rock that makes up much of the material in tectonic plates. The part of the Earth's crust beneath the oceans consists mainly of basalt whereas continental crust consists mainly of less dense rocks, such as granite. (See plate tectonics.)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• basaltine
  adjective
• basaltic
  adjective
• subbasaltic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of basalt

1595–1605; < Latin basaltēs, a misreading, in manuscripts of Pliny, of basanītēs < Greek basanī́tēs ( líthos ) touchstone, equivalent to básan ( os ) touchstone (ultimately < Egyptian bh̬n ( w ) graywacke) + -ītēs -ite ¹

Compare meaning

How does basalt compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• gabbro vs. basalt

Example Sentences

In 2007, Ms. Korologos purchased an art gallery in Basalt, Colo., that features contemporary Western art and artists influenced by the American West.

From Washington Post • Jan. 31, 2023

There are 80 miles of cross-country ski and snowshoe trails that connect the communities of Aspen, Snowmass and Basalt.

From New York Times • Dec. 3, 2022

Now, Fu and his colleagues have applied the technique to other rocks from Western Australia—its 3.2-billion-year-old Honeyeater Basalt.

From Science Magazine • Apr. 22, 2020

Basalt and gabbro are the extrusive and intrusive names for mafic igneous rocks, and peridotite is ultramafic, with komatiite as the fine-grained extrusive equivalent.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2017

Basalt is a brown rock of igneous origin.

From A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Verne, Jules

Related Words

• magma
• slag