Showing results for oolith. Search instead for ooliths.

oolith

American

[oh-uh-lith] / ˈoʊ ə lɪθ /

noun

Geology.

any of the component concretions of a piece of oolite.

oolith British

/ ˈəʊəˌlɪθ /

noun

any of the tiny spherical grains of sedimentary rock of which oolite is composed

"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

oolith Scientific

/ ō′ə-līt′ /

A small, round grain consisting of calcium carbonate, silica, or dolomite. Ooliths have concentric layers that form around a nucleus, such as a shell fragment, a sand grain, or a pellet of alga. They typically have diameters of 0.25 to 2 mm. Ooliths usually form by inorganic precipitation.

Etymology

Origin of oolith

First recorded in 1780–90; oo- + -lith

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

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