regolith

noun

reg·​o·​lith ˈre-gə-ˌlith 

: unconsolidated residual or transported material that overlies the solid rock on the earth, moon, or a planet

Examples of regolith in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

After a little run through the regolith and a celebration of America's triumphant return to the moon, the duo will board Starship again to launch back to lunar orbit and dock with Orion before beginning the trip back to Earth. — Josh Dinner, Space.com, 3 Nov. 2026

And the other half of our team is working on getting rid of the perchlorate in Martian regolith. — Lee Billings, Scientific American, 15 Oct. 2026

The idea is that these proteins could be used as a kind of cement to bind soil or regolith, effectively making a kind of biological cement. — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 4 Oct. 2026

This means that helium-3 has been striking the lunar soil, or regolith, for a long time. — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 26 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Greek rhēgos blanket + English -lith; akin to Greek rhezein to dye — more at raga

First Known Use

1897, in the meaning defined above