meteorite

noun me·te·or·ite \ ˈmē-tē-ə-ˌrīt \

Updated on: 12 Apr 2018

Definition of meteorite

: a meteor that reaches the surface of the earth without being completely vaporized

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meteoritic

play \ˌmē-tē-ə-ˈri-tik\ or less commonly meteoritical play \-ti-kəl\ adjective

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Recent Examples of meteorite from the Web

In 1956, Marvin joined a team studying the mineral makeup of the meteorites in the Harvard collection.

— leila mcneill, Smithsonian, "The Rockstar Geologist Who Mapped the Minerals of the Cosmos," 30 Mar. 2018
These types of meteorites are rare, according to the laboratory's website.

— alex stuckey, Houston Chronicle, "NASA is sending a slice of Mars back to the Red Planet," 16 Feb. 2018
The Meteor Man, 1993 The superhero spoof, written, directed and starring Robert Townsend, introduces a character who gains extraordinary powers after being struck by a bit of meteorite.

— dante a. ciampaglia, Newsweek, "‘Black Panther’ Owes Its Success to Heroes of Color Who Paved the Way," 13 Feb. 2018
As part of a series of in-depth evaluations at JSC, Regberg and his colleagues swabbed the floor, table, and workbench of the lab where Antarctic meteorites are stored and processed for research.

— adam mann, Science | AAAS, "NASA ‘clean’ room is contaminated with fungus," 23 Mar. 2018
Wilder theories emerged of sea monsters, mutinies and meteorites.

— tim prudente, baltimoresun.com, "Baltimore-bound USS Cyclops vanished 100 years ago. Its fate remains a mystery," 13 Mar. 2018
Iridium is extremely rare on Earth but common in meteorites.

— nina burleigh, Newsweek, "We Can Save Ourselves From Earth-Killing Asteroids, But Someone Has to Pay," 11 June 2015
Alleged meteorite finds included a rock on a farm near Sweester, Ind., and other fragments near Huntsville, Ontario, about 100 miles north of Toronto.

— robert allen, Detroit Free Press, "Finding Michigan's 5-mile crater, other meteor targets," 1 Feb. 2018
The reports ranged anywhere from 5 to 9 p.m. Police responding to the calls could not find any car accidents, major construction projects, failed power transformers, meteorites or anything else that might have caused the tremor.

— jeff rumage, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Why did the window rattle? Ozaukee official: 'Frost quakes' hit Saturday night," 30 Jan. 2018

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

First Known Use of meteorite

1823

in the meaning defined above

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METEORITE Defined for English Language Learners

meteorite

noun

Definition of meteorite for English Language Learners

: a piece of rock or metal that has fallen to the ground from outer space : a meteor that reaches the surface of the Earth without burning up entirely