zeolite

American  

[zee-uh-lahyt] / ˈzi əˌlaɪt /

noun

Mineralogy.

1. any of a group of hydrated silicates of aluminum with alkali metals, commonly occurring as secondary minerals in cavities in basic volcanic rocks: used for their molecular sieve properties because they undergo dehydration with little or no change in crystal structure.

---

zeolite British  

/ ˈziːəˌlaɪt /

noun

1. any of a large group of glassy secondary minerals consisting of hydrated aluminium silicates of calcium, sodium, or potassium: formed in cavities in lava flows and plutonic rocks

2. any of a class of similar synthetic materials used in ion exchange and as selective absorbents See molecular sieve

---

zeolite Scientific  

/ zē′ə-līt′ /

1. Any of a family of hydrous aluminum silicate minerals, whose molecules enclose cations of sodium, potassium, calcium, strontium, or barium. Zeolites are usually white or colorless, but they can also be red or yellow. They are characterized by their easy and reversible loss of water of hydration. They usually occur within cavities in basalt.

---

Other Word Forms

• zeolitic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of zeolite

1770–80; < Greek ze ( în ) to boil + -o- + -lite

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

zeolite

Celestian, who used zeolite to reduce lead on a project in Vernon in 2022-23, estimated a 20-by-20-foot yard would need about 50 pounds, “but any amount will help.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2025

In this study, the researchers used a zeolite called iron-modified aluminum silicate, paired with an enzyme called alcohol oxidase.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 4, 2024

A sediment core from one of Tikal's reservoirs also found that zeolite sand had been used in its construction.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 9, 2023

But zeolite, a simple mineral with hitherto unknown hemostatic properties, saves their bacon every time.

From New York Times ● Jul. 26, 2023

It comprehends any rock in which round or almond-shaped nodules of some mineral, such as agate, chalcedony, calcareous spar, or zeolite, are scattered through a base of wacke, basalt, greenstone, or other kind of trap.

From The Student's Elements of Geology by Sir Charles Lyell