shale
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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; see scale 2
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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.
See Examples For:
But the shale revolution fundamentally altered America's exposure to energy shocks.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026
The calculations around the reserve have changed as the so-called shale revolution picked up speed in the 2010s, Piper Sandler’s Stuart said.
From MarketWatch ● May 28, 2026
That is much better than the single-digit returns traditionally seen in solar and wind, and in line with some Permian shale projects.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 23, 2026
But a tepid response from American energy producers, as well as technological advances in drilling, suggest the go-go days of the shale boom creating armies of high-paying jobs are over.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 17, 2026
The drive through the tribal lands of the Khyber Pass, winding between cliffs of shale and limestone, was just as I remembered it—Baba and I had driven through the broken terrain back in 1974.
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
National Fuel Gas owns roughly 1.2 million acres in the Appalachian Basin, with substantial mineral ownership overlying the Marcellus and Utica shales.
From Barron's ● Jan. 23, 2026
Moreover, the rock types exposed at this site are carbon-rich shales, which Torres says is exactly what you would want to study in this case.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 14, 2023
"The oil shales are running out of Tier 1 inventory," said Bryan Sheffield, founder of energy investors Formentera Partners and Scott Sheffield's son.
From Reuters ● Oct. 11, 2023
Offshore shales may record how the islands’ volcanic basalt eroded.
From Science Magazine ● Apr. 13, 2022
The Carboniferous Limestone series which succeeds the Calciferous Sandstone consists of a middle group of sandstones, shales, coals and ironstones, with a limestone group above and below.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 7 "Gyantse" to "Hallel" by Various
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.
