bauxite

American  

[bawk-sahyt, boh-zahyt] / ˈbɔk saɪt, ˈboʊ zaɪt /

noun

1. a rock consisting of aluminum oxides and hydroxides with various impurities: the principal ore of aluminum.

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bauxite British  

/ ˈbɔːksaɪt /

noun

1. a white, red, yellow, or brown amorphous claylike substance comprising aluminium oxides and hydroxides, often with such impurities as iron oxides. It is the chief ore of aluminium. General formula: Al 2 O 3 . n H 2 O

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bauxite Scientific  

/ bôk′sīt′ /

1. A soft, whitish to reddish-brown rock consisting mainly of hydrous aluminum oxides and aluminum hydroxides along with silica, silt, iron hydroxides, and clay minerals. Bauxite forms from the breakdown of clays and is a major source of aluminum.

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Other Word Forms

• bauxitic adjective

Etymology

Origin of bauxite

1860–65; named after Les Baux, near Arles in S France; -ite ¹

Example Sentences

It mines bauxite, the raw material for aluminum, refines it into alumina powder, and operates smelters that turn alumina to finished aluminum.

From Barron's • Mar. 30, 2026

The Middle East accounts for about 8%-9% of global aluminum output, but produces only around 3% of global alumina and around 1% of bauxite, leaving smelters highly dependent on seaborne imports, according to market watchers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026

The bauxite also contains trace amounts of gallium, so Alcoa intends to build a plant to extract it.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026

The country is rich in minerals, including bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold and uranium, yet its people remain among the poorest in West Africa.

From BBC • Jan. 9, 2026

He has skills developed operating heavy machinery, laboring over a stew of molten bauxite at Kaiser Aluminum, once one of the best jobs in Spokane, Washington, a city of 200,000.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times