halite

ha·lite | \ ˈha-ˌlīt

, ˈhā-

Definition of halite

: salt that is in the form of large pieces or crystals : rock salt In crystals of halite there are ions of two different kinds … The smaller ones are those of sodium, and the larger ones are those of chlorine.— Sheldon Judson and Marvin E. Kauffman Halite occurs chiefly in sedimentary rocks where it has been deposited by evaporation from sea water or salt lakes …— W. A. Deer et al. A small, choppy gravel road off state highway 178 takes us to the heart of this truly lunar landscape. The pinnacles surround us. Made of silty halite, they stand up to 2 ft. high. They are formed of the salt left behind from the evaporation of ground water.— Scott Oldham

Examples of halite in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The team of scientists led by Nigel Blamey found tiny bubbles of air from around 800 million years ago trapped in samples of halite, which is the rock version of table salt. — Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, "Scientists Release Air Trapped 800 Million Years Ago," 25 July 2016 Enormous machines drill into great veins of halite, extracting huge chunks that other enormous machines crush into bucketloads of salt that ascend on conveyors. — Laura Mallonee, WIRED, "Venture Into a Surreal Salt Mine 2,000 Feet Below Lake Erie," 3 May 2016

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'halite.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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