meteorite

[mee-tee-uh-rahyt]

noun

1. a mass of stone or metal that has reached the earth from outer space; a fallen meteoroid.

2. a meteoroid.

meteorite

/ ˌmiːtɪəˈrɪtɪk, ˈmiːtɪəˌraɪt /

noun

1. a rocklike object consisting of the remains of a meteoroid that has fallen on earth. It may be stony (chondrite), iron, or stony iron (pallasite) See chondrite

meteorite

1. A meteor that reaches the Earth's surface because it has not been burned up by friction with the atmosphere. Meteorites are believed to be fragments of comets and asteroids.

2. ◆ Meteorites that consist mostly of silicates are called stony meteorites and are classified as either chondrites or achondrites.

3. ◆ Meteorites that consist mostly of iron are called iron meteorites.

4. ◆ Meteorites that consist of a mixture of silicates and iron are called stony-iron meteorites.

Other Word Forms

• meteoritic adjective
• meteoritical adjective
• meteorital adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of meteorite¹

First recorded in 1815–25; meteor + -ite ¹

Example Sentences

The early Earth's makeup can be explained mostly as a mix of known meteorite types.

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The researchers analyzed more than 400 samples, ranging from modern plants and animals to billion-year-old fossils and meteorites.

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The team concluded that the object responsible was a meteorite rather than a comet.

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"Our model ties together two things that didn't seem to fit before -- the isotopic fingerprints in meteorites, which come in two flavors, and the dynamics of planet formation," Srivastava explained.

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The researchers discovered that as water moves through these plants, it experiences such intense natural filtration that its oxygen isotope signatures become similar to those seen in meteorites or other extraterrestrial materials.

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