dolerite
Americannoun
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a coarse-grained variety of basalt.
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any of various other igneous rocks, as diabase.
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any basaltlike igneous rock whose composition can be determined only by microscopic examination.
noun
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a dark basic intrusive igneous rock consisting of plagioclase feldspar and a pyroxene, such as augite; often emplaced in dykes
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any dark igneous rock whose composition cannot be determined with the naked eye
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of dolerite
1830–40; < French dolérite < Greek doler ( ós ) deceitful (derivative of dólos wile) + French -ite -ite 1
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.
Rockfalls on a narrow rocky path that clings to the side of a giant slab of dolerite rock are, unsurprisingly, not a new issue.
From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2025
And while there are erratics in some areas, "there is no record of the very distinctive spotted dolerite used at Stonehenge", the researchers said.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2025
To celebrate the millennium, an ill-fated project, funded with £100,000 from the national lottery, attempted to re-enact the fetching of a single three-tonne dolerite bluestone from Wales to Wiltshire.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 8, 2019
But that is not quite true: permanence and certainty seem to bounce off its sandstone and dolerite surfaces.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 8, 2019
This is not as hard work as pounding the obelisk with dolerite, but it is still hard, dull work.
From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman
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.
