Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for azurite. Search instead for tzurises.

azurite

American  
[azh-uh-rahyt] / ˈæʒ əˌraɪt /

noun

  1. a blue mineral, a hydrous copper carbonate, Cu 3 (CO3 ) 2 (OH) 2 : an ore of copper.

  2. a gem of moderate value cut from this mineral.

azurite British  
/ ˈæʒʊˌraɪt /

noun

  1. an azure-blue mineral associated with copper deposits. It is a source of copper. Composition: copper carbonate. Formula: Cu 3 (CO 3 ) 2 (OH) 2 . Crystal structure: monoclinic

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
azurite Scientific  
/ ăzh′ə-rīt′ /

  1. A dark-blue monoclinic mineral occurring as a mass of crystals (an aggregate) or in the form of blades with wedge-shaped tips. It is often found together with the mineral malachite in copper deposits. Azurite is used as a source of copper, as a gemstone, and as a dye for paints and fabrics. Chemical formula: Cu 3 (CO 3 ) 2 (OH) 2 .

Etymology

Origin of azurite

First recorded in 1810–20; azure + -ite 1

Vocabulary lists containing azurite

Rocks and Minerals - Middle School and High School

Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

I imagined a vitrine of the pigments used to achieve those “Gainsborough blues”—indigo, Prussian blue, ultramarine, azurite.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026

After applying a variety of advanced scientific techniques, the team determined that the residue came from azurite, a bright blue mineral pigment that has not previously been documented in Paleolithic art in Europe.

From Science Daily • Dec. 9, 2025

A lion that once stood guard over a tomb in Corinth, in the sixth century B.C., has an azurite mane and an ochre body, calling to mind Mayan or Aztec artifacts.

From The New Yorker • Oct. 22, 2018

She ended up experimenting with early pigment sources like azurite minerals and cochineal insects, sources of rich blues and red hues.

From New York Times • Jun. 30, 2017

It is a fragment from a thin vein of malachite and azurite, or green and blue carbonate of copper, and has been but little changed from its original condition.

From Zuñi Fetiches Second Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1880-1881, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1883, pages 3-45 by Cushing, Frank Hamilton

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.