stalactite
a deposit, usually of calcium carbonate, shaped like an icicle, hanging from the roof of a cave or the like, and formed by the dripping of percolating calcareous water.
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Origin of stalactite
1Other words from stalactite
- stal·ac·tit·ic [stal-uhk-tit-ik], /ˌstæl əkˈtɪt ɪk/, stal·ac·tit·i·cal, adjective
- stal·ac·tit·i·cal·ly, adverb
Words that may be confused with stalactite
- stalactite , stalagmite
Words Nearby stalactite
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use stalactite in a sentence
Medieval artisans crafted some Alhambra ceilings to look like a cave’s stalactites, then gilded them with a layer of tinfoil topped by a gold-and-silver alloy.
Why once-gold ceilings in Spain’s Alhambra palace have purple stains | Carmen Drahl | September 9, 2022 | Science NewsWith a bedrock of sandstone and shale, two minerals less water soluble than limestone, the area didn’t lend itself to the familiar stalactites and stalagmites of other subterranean tunnels.
Replies stack downward, leading in some cases to long, stalactite-like structures.
Most Comments Are Horrible—Sites Look for Ways to Make Them Better | Jesse Singal | July 16, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTIn this specimen the tubular cavity of the stalactite is still open.
I halted on my way to visit the curious and wonderful stalactite caverns of Adelsberg; they are like underground cathedrals.
The storeman seizes the head of one bird, wrenches hard, and off it breaks as brittle as a stalactite.
The Home of the Blizzard | Douglas MawsonThe outermost cave is 70 ft. in height and 200 in length, with massive pillars of stalactite reaching from roof to floor.
Slow water fell drop by drop from the point of the stalactite upon the point of the stalagmite.
The Young Trailers | Joseph A. Altsheler
British Dictionary definitions for stalactite
/ (ˈstæləkˌtaɪt) /
a cylindrical mass of calcium carbonate hanging from the roof of a limestone cave: formed by precipitation from continually dripping water: Compare stalagmite
Origin of stalactite
1Derived forms of stalactite
- stalactiform (stəˈlæktɪˌfɔːm), adjective
- stalactitic (ˌstæləkˈtɪtɪk) or stalactitical, adjective
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
Scientific definitions for stalactite
[ stə-lăk′tīt′ ]
A cylindrical or conical mineral deposit projecting downward from the roof of a cave or cavern, formed by the dripping of water saturated with minerals. Stalactites form gradually as the minerals precipitate out of the saturated water. They usually consist of calcite but can also consist of other minerals. Compare stalagmite.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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