geological cycle

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noun

the series of events in which a rock of one type is converted to one or more other types and then back to the original typeAlso called: rock cycle

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Words nearby geological cycle

geoid, geoisotherm, geol., geolocation, geologic, geological cycle, Geological Survey, geological timescale, geologic time, geologist, geologize

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

How to use geological cycle in a sentence

It almost mirrors the Buddhist cycle of life, death, and rebirth.
The Buddhist Business of Poaching Animals for Good Karma|Brendon Hong|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Eventually, the mistletoe bush grows, blooms, and forms berries, and the cycle begins anew.
Mistletoe is the Vampire of Plants|Helen Thompson|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Newsroom aired its final episode on Sunday, already an eternity ago in news-cycle terms.
A Few Great Men Too Many: Aaron Sorkin Doesn’t Think You Can Handle the Truth|Arthur Chu|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
To break her self-destructive cycle and heal, she decides to hike 1,100 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail solo.
Exclusive: The Making of Reese Witherspoon’s Golden Globe-Nominated ‘Wild’|Marlow Stern|December 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Especially given that we just spent almost $4 billion during the 2013-14 election cycle?
Just What We Needed: More Campaign Spending|Mark McKinnon|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The sexual cycle can take place only within the body of one genus of mosquito, anopheles.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
Here they enter red corpuscles as young malarial parasites, and the majority pass through the asexual cycle just described.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
The geological character of this rock is more fully treated upon in the Appendix by my friend Dr. Fitton.
Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia] [Volume 2 of 2]|Phillip Parker King
In the same year he was appointed to an inspectorship in the Mining and Geological Department.
The Life & Letters of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky|Modeste Tchaikovsky
It will be observed that no account is here given of the geological ages or of the successions of organic life.
Outlines of the Earth's History|Nathaniel Southgate Shaler

Cultural definitions for geological cycle

geological cycle

The continuous process in which hot, molten material coming to the surface of the Earth from the interior forms igneous rocks, which are then broken down by weathering to create soil and sedimentary rocks. These sedimentary rocks can be lifted up by the motion associated with plate tectonics, in which case they are again weathered and washed down to the sea. Alternatively, they can be buried deep within the Earth, changed into metamorphic rocks, and brought to the surface of the Earth, or buried so deeply that they are melted and become part of the magma from which igneous rocks are formed.