tektite

American  

[tek-tahyt] / ˈtɛk taɪt /

noun

Geology.

1. any of several kinds of small glassy bodies, in various forms, occurring in Australia and elsewhere, now believed to have been produced by the impact of meteorites on the earth's surface.

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tektite British  

/ ˈtɛktaɪt /

noun

1. a small dark glassy object found in several areas around the world, thought to be a product of meteorite impact See also moldavite

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tektite Scientific  

/ tĕk′tīt′ /

1. Any of numerous dark-brown to green glassy objects, usually small (about the size of a walnut) and round with pitted surfaces. Tektites consist primarily (65% to 90%) of silica and have a very low water content. They are found in groups in several widely separated parts of the world and bear no relation to surrounding geologic formations. Some have shapes that show the kind of melting and deformation typical of objects that fall through the Earth's atmosphere. Tektites are believed to be of extraterrestrial origin or to have formed during high-velocity impacts on terrestrial rocks.

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Etymology

Origin of tektite

1920–25; < Greek tēkt ( ós ) molten + -ite ¹

Example Sentences

The full research paper, 'A new tektite strewn field in Australia ejected from a volcanic arc impact crater 11 Myr ago', is published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters.

From Science Daily • Oct. 16, 2025

After TikTok influencers espoused the beauty and purported powers of moldavite, an olive-green tektite, “we would get asked every single day,” said Cheryl Rey, Crystalarium’s curator and manager.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 1, 2021

I took my friend at his suggestion to “examine and research” the teardrop-shaped stone and quickly realized that it is a very special type of rock, a tektite.

From Scientific American • Aug. 9, 2019

The block, DePalma said, contained a sturgeon and a paddlefish, along with dozens of smaller fossils and a single small, perfect crater with a tektite in it.

From The New Yorker • Mar. 29, 2019

The fragments of single stony meteorites could not cover large areas of the earth's surface, such as the tektite patches splattered over big parts of Texas, Libya and Australia.

From Time Magazine Archive