rock cycle

American  

noun

1. Geology. a continuous process by which rocks are created, changed from one form to another, destroyed, and then formed again.

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rock cycle British  

noun

1. another name for geological cycle

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Etymology

Origin of rock cycle

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

It promised to explain how mountains form and fall, the hydrologic cycle, soil formation and erosion, minerals, the rock cycle, and why ocean sediments end up in weird places like the top of mountains.

From Scientific American • Sep. 21, 2019

If the temperature and pressure conditions melt the rocks to create magma and lava, the rock cycle begins anew with the creation of new rocks.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2017

Figure 6.2 The rock cycle, showing the processes related to sedimentary rocks on the right-hand side.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

Figure 3.2 A schematic view of the rock cycle.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

The rock cycle, as we now know, is driven by plate tectonics, with sedimentary material vanishing into subduction zones.

From Scientific American • Oct. 20, 2013