meteorite

[ mee-tee-uh-rahyt ]

/ ˈmi ti əˌraɪt /

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See synonyms for meteorite on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

a meteoroid.

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Origin of meteorite

First recorded in 1815–25; meteor + -ite¹

OTHER WORDS FROM meteorite

me·te·or·it·ic

[mee-tee-uh-rit-ik], /ˌmi ti əˈrɪt ɪk/, me·te·or·it·i·cal, me·te·or·it·al

[mee-tee-uh-rahyt-l], /ˌmi ti əˈraɪt l/, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH meteorite

meteor, meteoric, meteorite , meteoroid

Words nearby meteorite

Meteor Deep, meteoric, meteoric shower, meteoric water, meteorism, meteorite, meteorites, meteoritics, meteorogram, meteorograph, meteoroid

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use meteorite in a sentence

So meteorites provide us with a lot of information about a small number of objects, and micrometeorites provide a tiny amount of information on a lot of objects.
What Dust From Space Tells Us About Ourselves|Natalie Wolchover|February 4, 2021|Quanta Magazine
Burning bits of ground-up meteorites may tell scientists what exoplanets’ early atmospheres are made of.
Crushed space rocks hint at exoplanets’ early atmospheric makeup|Lisa Grossman|January 26, 2021|Science News
These meteorites are made out of dust that’s just the right size to drift really fast within the disk.
The Sight of Jupiter and Saturn Together Is a Beautiful Thing - Facts So Romantic|Sean Raymond & Sebastiaan Krijt|December 21, 2020|Nautilus
Then a series of Hubble Space Telescope observations between 2006 and 2013 found that they were more like incoming meteorites.
The New History of the Milky Way|Charlie Wood|December 15, 2020|Quanta Magazine

Ryugu should also help us understand what kinds of elements and compounds might have been delivered to the early Earth by meteorite impacts.
A capsule carrying asteroid rocks has successfully landed on Earth|Charlotte Jee|December 7, 2020|MIT Technology Review
For example, a common type of meteorite has similar mineral content to Earth, but a lot less deuterium.
Are Comets the Origin of Earth’s Oceans?|Matthew R. Francis|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But how many of them remember the CNN host who asked whether the Russian meteorite had been caused by global warming?
Who Represents?|Megan McArdle|February 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST
You haven't forgotten how the natives of Giant Land feared the meteorite and insisted that we take it away.
Tom Swift and His Giant Telescope|Victor Appleton
His people think we are great magicians or else witch doctors, and Amo wrote begging us to take the meteorite from his land.
Tom Swift and His Giant Telescope|Victor Appleton
All of them appeared exhausted, but Tom's eyes expressed the greatest satisfaction when he saw the meteorite safely aboard.
Tom Swift and His Giant Telescope|Victor Appleton
Thus it was that the great meteorite reached the top long before Tom and the two natives did.
Tom Swift and His Giant Telescope|Victor Appleton
Ned Newton wired that the meteorite had been safely placed on a fast freight train.
Tom Swift and His Giant Telescope|Victor Appleton

British Dictionary definitions for meteorite

meteorite

/ (ˈmiːtɪəˌraɪt) /

noun

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

Derived forms of meteorite

meteoritic (ˌmiːtɪəˈrɪtɪk), adjective

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

Scientific definitions for meteorite

meteorite

[ mē′tē-ə-rīt′ ]

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.♦ Meteorites that consist mostly of silicates are called stony meteorites and are classified as either chondrites or achondrites. ♦ Meteorites that consist mostly of iron are called iron meteorites. ♦ Meteorites that consist of a mixture of silicates and iron are called stony-iron meteorites.

meteorite

Origin of meteorite

OTHER WORDS FROM meteorite

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH meteorite

Words nearby meteorite

Words related to meteorite

How to use meteorite in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for meteorite

Derived forms of meteorite

Scientific definitions for meteorite