shale
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
- shalelike adjective
- shaley adjective
- shaly adjective
Etymology
Origin of shale
1740–50; origin uncertain; compare obsolete shale to split (said of stone), to shell, derivative of shale shell, husk, Old English scealu shell, husk; scale 2
Compare meaning
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Vocabulary lists containing shale
Earth Science - Middle School
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Earth Science - High School
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Geology - Middle School
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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.
And the recent engine of global production growth, the American shale patch, is showing fresh signs of slowing—raising the prospects that future supply will be more limited.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026
Analyst Nitin Kumar rates Diamondback a Buy with a $220 target, citing its U.S. shale leadership and increased efficiency.
From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026
Most American oil imports come from Canada and feed refineries that can’t efficiently process lighter shale blends.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026
The price of Brent crude has been bouncing around north of $100 a barrel, though U.S. shale blends trade at a steep discount in part because they are more costly to refine.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026
He left the road and took a trail that cut directly to the cliffs, winding up the chalky gray hill where the mesa plateau ended in crumbling shale above the red clay flats.
From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
