fluorspar

American

[floo-awr-spahr, -er-] / ˈflu ɔrˌspɑr, -ər- /

Or fluor spar

noun

Mineralogy.

fluorite.

fluorspar British

/ ˈflʊəˌspɑː /

noun

Also: fluorite. a white or colourless mineral sometimes fluorescent and often tinted by impurities, found in veins and as deposits from hot gases. It is used in the manufacture of glass, enamel, and jewellery, and is the chief ore of fluorine. Composition: calcium fluoride. Formula: CaF 2 . Crystal structure: cubic

"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

Etymology

Origin of fluorspar

First recorded in 1785–95; fluor- + spar ³

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.

One result is the fluorspar district of southern Illinois, which once produced a majority of the country’s fluorite—used to smelt steel and create hydrofluoric acid.

From Science Magazine • Jun. 1, 2023

I'm for it�but I'm disturbed about coal and fluorspar so I'm reserving my judgment on amendments.

From Time Magazine Archive

A few were laden to the Plimsoll mark with cryolite from Greenland, fluorspar from Newfoundland, pitch and coke from the U.S.

From Time Magazine Archive

They offered 5 to 6% more than U. S. prices for Mexican antimony, copper, fluorspar, tungsten.

From Time Magazine Archive

Copper, coal, gold, molybdenum, fluorspar, uranium, tin, and tungsten account for a large part of industrial production and foreign direct investment.

From The 2008 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency

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