ejecta

[ih-jek-tuh]

noun

(used with a singular or plural verb)

1. matter ejected, as from a volcano in eruption.

ejecta

/ ɪˈdʒɛktə /

plural noun

1. matter thrown out of a crater by an erupting volcano or during a meteorite impact

ejecta

1. Ejected matter, especially from an erupting volcano. Volcanic ejecta usually includes volcanic glass, ash, and rock fragments.

Word History and Origins

Origin of ejecta¹

1885–90; neuter plural of Latin ējectus. See eject

Word History and Origins

Origin of ejecta¹

C19: Latin, literally: (things) ejected; see _eject

Example Sentences

It was long thought that high-speed collisions pulverized the comet ejecta, but now a 45-member team of researchers reports, in a paper published online in the journal Icarus this week, that heat is to blame.

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"To create these ions that we observed in the ejecta, it was clear that there had to be a source of high-energy radiation in the center of the SN 1987A remnant," Fransson said.

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The supernova’s ejecta expands in an “hourglass shape” as it impacts this disk.

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“It could have gone really badly. They could have had the vehicle destroyed on the launchpad from ejecta hitting it.”

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What they got was even clearer: Within seconds of the impact, they watched in exquisite detail as the asteroid sneezed out a plume of ejecta.

Read more on Science Magazine

Related Words

• dung 
• excrement 
• poo 
• poop 
• shit