Definition of shale
: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
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Recent Examples of shale from the Web
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Oil producers in the Eagle Ford shale region of south Texas have halted some operations.
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Coal companies’ pleas for protection come as President Donald Trump vows to make good on campaign promises to support an industry hit by low-cost renewable energy and abundant gas from shale reservoirs.
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The coal industry isn’t disappearing because of peacenik environmentalism; it has been supplanted by superior technology, from shale extraction to wind turbines.
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The drilling involved the second of three pipelines through which Sunoco is delivering natural-gas liquids such as propane from the Western Pennsylvania shale fields to its terminal in Marcus Hook.
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Fracking involves shooting a high-pressure stream of water, sand, and chemicals into the ground to release gas from shale.
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Suddenly buyers from all over the world are purchasing the new U.S. supplies, from South Korea to India — even oil-rich Venezuela, which uses the light sweet crude that comes out of American shale to blend with its gooey heavy crude.
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More recently, exports have grown thanks to the shale boom of the last decade, which opened up vast supplies of the energy source once thought unreachable.
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Suddenly buyers from all over the world are purchasing the new American supplies, from South Korea to India — even oil-rich Venezuela, which uses the light sweet crude that comes out of American shale to blend with its gooey heavy crude.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'shale.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of shale
probably from obsolete or dialect shale scale, shell, from Middle English, from Old English scealu — more at shell
SHALE Defined for English Language Learners
shale
play
noun
Definition of shale for English Language Learners
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: a soft kind of rock that splits easily into flat pieces
SHALE Defined for Kids
shale
play
noun
\
ˈshāl
\
Definition of shale for Students
:a rock with a fine grain formed from clay, mud, or silt
Learn More about shale
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See words that rhyme with shale Spanish Central: Translation of shale Nglish: Translation of shale for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of shale for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about shale
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