phyllosilicate

American

[fil-oh-sil-i-kit, -keyt] / ˌfɪl oʊˈsɪl ɪ kɪt, -ˌkeɪt /

noun

any silicate mineral having the tetrahedral silicate groups linked in sheets, each group containing four oxygen atoms, three of which are shared with other groups so that the ratio of silicon atoms to oxygen atoms is two to five.

phyllosilicate British

/ ˌfɪləʊˈsɪlɪkeɪt /

noun

any of a class of silicate minerals, including talc, consisting of thin sheets

"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

Etymology

Origin of phyllosilicate

First recorded in 1945–50; phyllo- + silicate

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

phyllosilicate

Proteus, the largest of the small moons included in the study, did not show the same phyllosilicate signature.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026

All three groups show signs of a change that occurred during the early evolution of the Solar System, where water combines with other molecules to form phyllosilicate and carbonate minerals.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 28, 2023

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