chondrite

American  

[kon-drahyt] / ˈkɒn draɪt /

noun

1. a stony meteorite containing chondrules.

---

chondrite British  

/ ˈkɒndraɪt /

noun

1. a stony meteorite consisting mainly of silicate minerals in the form of chondrules Compare achondrite

---

chondrite Scientific  

/ kŏn′drīt′ /

1. A stony meteorite that contains chondrules embedded in a fine matrix of the silicate minerals olivine and pyroxene. About 85 percent of all meteorites are chondrites.

---

Other Word Forms

• chondritic
  adjective

---

Etymology

Origin of chondrite

First recorded in 1880–85; chondr- + -ite ¹

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chondrite

More remarkably, it is just the second witnessed fall of a CM1/2 carbonaceous chondrite.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 8, 2026

That led Magee and his colleagues to identify it as a chondrite, a meteorite made mostly of rock, in contrast to the iron and nickel composition of so-called iron or “ferrous” meteorites.

From Scientific American ● May 25, 2023

Scientists with The College of New Jersey determined the 6-by-4-inch object, which weighs about 2.2 pounds, is a rare stony chondrite meteorite.

From Seattle Times ● May 11, 2023

Of the more than 1,000 space rocks that have been found on Earth’s surface, only five are of the this type known as a C.I. chondrite.

From New York Times ● Jun. 9, 2022

It's called a carbonaceous chondrite, and people in the past have proposed that that's probably what hit 66 million years ago.

From Salon ● May 11, 2022

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---