molybdenite

[ muh-lib-duh-nahyt ]

/ məˈlɪb dəˌnaɪt /

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noun

a soft, graphitelike mineral, molybdenum sulfide, MoS2, occurring in foliated masses or scales: the principal ore of molybdenum.

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Origin of molybdenite

1790–1800; obsolete molybden(a)molybdenum + -ite¹

Words nearby molybdenite

Moluccas, mol. wt., moly, molybdate, molybdate orange, molybdenite, molybdenosis, molybdenous, molybdenum, molybdenum disulfide, molybdenum trioxide

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

How to use molybdenite in a sentence

The chief ore minerals are molybdenite (molybdenum sulphide) and wulfenite (lead molybdate).
The Economic Aspect of Geology|C. K. Leith
In molybdenite deposits secondary concentration has not been important.
The Economic Aspect of Geology|C. K. Leith
Wulfenite is rather common in the upper oxidized zone of deposits which contain lead minerals and molybdenite.
The Economic Aspect of Geology|C. K. Leith
In the deposits of New South Wales they are found associated with molybdenite in quartz gangue, in pipe-like deposits in granite.
The Economic Aspect of Geology|C. K. Leith

The larger part of the world's production is from the molybdenite ores.
The Economic Aspect of Geology|C. K. Leith

British Dictionary definitions for molybdenite

molybdenite

/ (mɒˈlɪbdɪˌnaɪt) /

noun

a soft grey mineral consisting of molybdenum sulphide in hexagonal crystalline form with rhenium as an impurity: the main source of molybdenum and rhenium. Formula: MoS 2

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 molybdenite

molybdenite

[ mə-lĭb′də-nīt′ ]

A soft, lead-gray hexagonal mineral that is the principal ore of molybdenum. It occurs as sheetlike masses in pegmatites and in areas where contact metamorphism has taken place. Chemical formula: MoS2.