bauxite

American  

[bawk-sahyt, boh-zahyt] / ˈbɔk saɪt, ˈboʊ zaɪt /

noun

1. a rock consisting of aluminum oxides and hydroxides with various impurities: the principal ore of aluminum.

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bauxite British  

/ ˈbɔːksaɪt /

noun

1. a white, red, yellow, or brown amorphous claylike substance comprising aluminium oxides and hydroxides, often with such impurities as iron oxides. It is the chief ore of aluminium. General formula: Al 2 O 3 . n H 2 O

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bauxite Scientific  

/ bôk′sīt′ /

1. A soft, whitish to reddish-brown rock consisting mainly of hydrous aluminum oxides and aluminum hydroxides along with silica, silt, iron hydroxides, and clay minerals. Bauxite forms from the breakdown of clays and is a major source of aluminum.

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Other Word Forms

• bauxitic
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of bauxite

1860–65; named after Les Baux, near Arles in S France; see -ite ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bauxite

Between 2012 and 2023, official gold production nearly quadrupled from 13 to 51 tonnes, while the country also boasts veins of iron, diamonds, nickel, manganese, bauxite, copper and coltan.

From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026

While in the field, we encountered bore holes from bauxite mining exploration.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026

Alcoa has agreed to buy South32’s bauxite, alumina and aluminum assets across Australia, Brazil and South Africa in a cash-and-stock deal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

Guinea is also the world's largest producer of bauxite, used to make aluminium.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026

He has skills developed operating heavy machinery, laboring over a stew of molten bauxite at Kaiser Aluminum, once one of the best jobs in Spokane, Washington, a city of 200,000.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

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