: a fissile rock that is formed by the consolidation of clay, mud, or silt, has a finely stratified or laminated structure, and is composed of minerals essentially unaltered since deposition
Examples of shale in a Sentence
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The 10-acre area has shale and limestone rocks that formed from the bodies of sea creatures during the Ordovician Period, the Sharonville city website states.
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Jolene Almendarez, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025
But take a look around the country’s other major shale plays which do not enjoy the big advantages related to geology and economies of scale that have made the Permian the most active drilling basin for a decade.
—David Blackmon, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2025
On screen, the hill grows into a mountain, and then the mountain—which is not a mountain—erupts, a hulking black mass edged with feathery projectiles, a pyrotechnic finale of soil and shale.
—Literary Hub, 11 June 2025
The highest quality gas shales, found in the Sichuan Basin in the southern part of the country, are thinner, older, deeper, and more highly faulted and fractured.
—Scott Montgomery, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
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Jolene Almendarez, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025
But take a look around the country’s other major shale plays which do not enjoy the big advantages related to geology and economies of scale that have made the Permian the most active drilling basin for a decade.
—David Blackmon, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2025
On screen, the hill grows into a mountain, and then the mountain—which is not a mountain—erupts, a hulking black mass edged with feathery projectiles, a pyrotechnic finale of soil and shale.
—Literary Hub, 11 June 2025
The highest quality gas shales, found in the Sichuan Basin in the southern part of the country, are thinner, older, deeper, and more highly faulted and fractured.
—Scott Montgomery, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for shale
Cite this Entry
“Shale.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shale. Accessed 24 Jul. 2025.
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