silicate

American  

[sil-i-kit, -keyt] / ˈsɪl ɪ kɪt, -ˌkeɪt /

noun

1. Mineralogy. any of the largest group of mineral compounds, as quartz, beryl, garnet, feldspar, mica, and various kinds of clay, consisting of SiO 2 or SiO 4 groupings and one or more metallic ions, with some forms containing hydrogen. Silicates constitute well over 90 percent of the rock-forming minerals of the earth's crust.

2. Chemistry. any salt derived from the silicic acids or from silica.

---

silicate British  

/ ˈsɪlɪkɪt, -ˌkeɪt /

noun

1. a salt or ester of silicic acid, esp one of a large number of usually insoluble salts with polymeric negative ions having a structure formed of tetrahedrons of SiO 4 groups linked in rings, chains, sheets, or three dimensional frameworks. Silicates constitute a large proportion of the earth's minerals and are present in cement and glass

---

silicate Scientific  

/ sĭl′ĭ-kāt′ /

1. Any of a large class of chemical compounds composed of silicon, oxygen, and at least one metal. Most rocks and minerals are silicates.

2. Any mineral containing the group SiO ₄, either isolated, or joined to other groups in chains, sheets, or three-dimensional groups with metal elements. Micas and feldspars are silicate minerals.

---

Other Word Forms

• nonsilicate noun
• silication noun
• subsilicate noun

Etymology

Origin of silicate

First recorded in 1805–15; silic(a) + -ate ²

Example Sentences

Bags of gabbro and similar calcium-bearing silicate rocks fill a shed out back and dot the office.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 10, 2025

Here, side effects could include the erosion of silicate minerals into ecosystems or crops, in addition to the energy cost of mining, crushing, and transporting the rocks.

From Salon • Jul. 18, 2024

In landscapes with moderate erosion rates of around 0.1 millimeters per year, the rapidly weathering carbonates and sulfides are largely depleted, whereas silicate minerals are abundant and weather efficiently.

From Science Daily • Mar. 7, 2024

For instance, one Oakland-based company is commercializing cement made from carbon-free calcium silicate rock, which emits no carbon dioxide when processed in a kiln.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 12, 2024

The lack of craters and mountains strongly suggests that a thick ice crust, perhaps 100 kilometers deep, jackets the silicate interior.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan