Rocks & Minerals
Knowledge · 102 words
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The words
102 words
- abrasion/əˈbɹeɪ.ʒən/noun · C1Wearing away by rubbing.
- agate/ˈæɡ.ɪt/noun · C1A banded stone with rings of colour through it.
- aggregate/ˈæɡ.ɹɪ.ɡət/noun · C1Crushed stone mixed into concrete.
- alabaster/ˈæl.əˌbɑːs.tə/noun · C1A smooth white stone soft enough to carve.
- alluviumnoun · C2Soil and gravel left behind by a river.
- amber/ˈæm.bəː/adjective · B1+A warm golden orange, like fossilised resin.
- amethyst/ˈæm.ə.θɪst/noun · B2+A purple form of quartz.
- anthracite/ˈænθɹəˌsaɪt/noun · C2The hardest coal, burning hot and clean.
- aquifer/ˈækwɪfə/noun · C1A layer of rock holding water underground.
- assay/ˈæseɪ/noun · C2A test of how much metal an ore contains.
- ballast/ˈbæl.əst/noun · C1Stone laid under railway track, or weight for stability.
- basalt/ˈbæs.ɒlt/noun · C1A dark heavy rock formed from cooled lava.
- bedrock/ˈbɛd.ɹɒk/noun · B2+The solid rock underneath the loose soil.
- boulder claynoun · C2Stony clay left behind by melting ice.
- carat/ˈkæ.ɹət/noun · B2+The unit by which gems are weighed.
- chalk/t͡ʃɔːk/noun · A2+The soft white stick teachers once wrote on dark boards with.
- cleavage/ˈkliːvɪd͡ʒ/noun · C1The way a mineral splits along flat planes.
- core/kɔː/noun · B2The hard middle of a fruit, thrown away.
- cornerstone/ˈkɔː.nə.stəʊn/noun · B2+The first stone laid, and anything a thing depends on.
- crag/ˈkɹæɡ/noun · C1A steep rugged mass of rock.
- crust/kɹʌst/noun · B2The thin solid outer layer of the earth.
- crystal/ˈkɹɪstəl/noun · B1A solid whose atoms line up in beautiful repeating shapes.
- deposit/dɪˈpɒz.ɪt/noun · B2A mass of useful material gathered in one place.
- diamond/ˈdaɪ.ə.mənd/noun · B1The hardest precious stone; also a shape on playing cards.
- emerald/ˈɛm.(ə.)ɹəld/noun · B1+A deep green precious stone.
- erosion/ɪˈɹəʊʒən/noun · B2+The slow eating away of land by wind and water.
- facet/ˈfæs.ɪt/noun · B2+One of the flat cut faces of a gem.
- fault linenoun · C1A crack where blocks of rock have slipped past each other.
- flint toolnoun · C1A blade flaked from very hard stone.
- fold/ˈfəʊld/noun · C1A bend pressed into layers of rock.
- fossil/ˈfɒsl̩/noun · B1+The stone remains of a creature that lived millions of years ago.
- fracture/ˈfɹæk.t͡ʃʰəː/noun · C1The way a mineral breaks where it has no cleavage.
- garnet/ˈɡɑː(ɹ).nət/noun · B2+A deep red stone used in jewellery and as an abrasive.
- gemstone/ˈd͡ʒɛmˌstoʊn/noun · B1+A stone valuable enough to be cut and set.
- geode/ˈdʒiː.əʊd/noun · C1A dull stone that is hollow and crystal-lined inside.
- geologist/dʒiˈɒlədʒɪst/noun · B2+Somebody who studies the earth and its rocks.
- gravel pitnoun · B2Where small loose stones are dug out.
- gypsum/ˈd͡ʒɪp.səm/noun · C1A soft mineral ground up to make plaster.
- hardness/ˈhɑɹdnəs/noun · B2How well a mineral resists being scratched.
- igneous/ˈɪɡ.ni.əs/adjective · C1Formed from molten rock that cooled and set.
- jasper/ˈd͡ʒæs.pə/noun · C1An opaque stone, usually red or brown.
- keystone/ˈkiː.stəʊn/noun · C1The central wedge at the top of an arch that locks it.
- lava/ˈlɑːvə/noun · B2The glowing melted rock that pours from an erupting mountain.
- lignite/ˈlɪɡnaɪ̯t/noun · C2A soft brown coal of poor quality.
- limescalenoun · C1The hard white deposit hard water leaves behind.
- lode/ləʊd/noun · C1A rich vein of metal ore in the rock.
- lustre/ˈlʌstə/noun · C1The way light shines off a mineral's surface.
- magma/ˈmæɡ.mə/noun · B2+Molten rock still under the surface.
- mantle/ˈmæn.təl/noun · B2The hot layer between the earth's crust and its core.
- masonry/ˈmeɪsənɹi/noun · C1Stone or brickwork, taken as a whole.
- metamorphic/ˌmɛt.əˈmɔɹ.fɪk/adjective · C1Changed into new rock by heat and pressure.
- millstone/ˈmɪlstəʊn/noun · C1A heavy round stone that grinds grain.
- mine/maɪ̯n/noun · B1The workings from which ore or coal is dug.
- mineral waternoun · A2Water that has dissolved minerals from the rock.
- mineralogy/ˌmɪnəˈralədʒi/noun · C2The study of minerals.
- moraine/məˈɹeɪn/noun · C2The heap of rubble a glacier pushes and leaves.
- mortar/ˈmɔːtə/noun · B2+The paste that binds bricks and stones.
- nugget/ˈnʌɡət/noun · B2A rounded lump of pure metal found in the ground.
- obsidian/ˌɒbˈsɪd.i.ən/noun · B2+Black volcanic glass that breaks to a razor edge.
- onyx/ˈɒnɪks/noun · B2+A banded stone, often black, used in jewellery.
- opal/ˈəʊpəl/noun · B2+A stone that flashes with shifting colours.
- ore/oɹ/noun · B2+Rock containing enough metal to be worth digging out.
- outcrop/ˈaʊt.kɹɒp/noun · C1Rock that breaks through the surface of the ground.
- panning/ˈpænɪŋ/noun · C1Swinging the camera sideways to follow movement.
- peat/piːt/noun · B2+Dark partly rotted plant matter dug from bogs.
- pebble beachnoun · B1A shore covered in small worn stones.
- petrifiedadjective · B2So frightened you cannot move, as if turned to stone.
- pit propnoun · C2The timber that holds up the roof of a mine.
- prospectingnoun · C1Searching land for valuable minerals.
- pumice/ˈpʌm.ɪs/noun · B2+A light frothy volcanic rock that floats.
- quarry/ˈkwɒɹ.i/noun · B2+The pit where stone is cut out of the ground.
- quartzite/ˈk(w)ɔːtˌsaɪt/noun · C2A very hard rock formed from pressed sandstone.
- refine/ɹɪˈfaɪn/verb · B2+To improve something by removing its rough edges and impurities.
- riprap/ˈɹɪpɹap/noun · C2Loose rock piled to protect a shore from waves.
- ruby/ˈɹuː.bi/noun · A2+A hard red precious stone.
- sandstone/ˈsændˌstəʊn/noun · B2+A warm-coloured rock formed from pressed sand.
- sapphire/ˈsæf.aɪ̯ə/noun · B1+A hard blue precious stone.
- scree slopenoun · C1A slope of loose broken stone below a cliff.
- seam/ˈsiːm/noun · B2The stitched line where two pieces of cloth join.
- sediment/ˈsɛd.ɪ.mənt/noun · B2+Material carried by water and dropped again.
- sedimentary/ˌsɛd.əˈmɛn.tə.ɹi/adjective · C1Formed from layers of material settling and hardening.
- seismology/saɪzˈmɑl.ə.d͡ʒi/noun · C2The study of earthquakes.
- shaft/ˈʃɑːft/noun · B2The vertical passage down into a mine.
- shale/ʃeɪl/noun · C1A soft rock that splits into thin layers.
- shale oilnoun · C1Oil squeezed out of layered rock.
- silt/sɪlt/noun · B2+Very fine soil carried and dropped by water.
- smelt/smɛlt/verb · C1To melt ore in order to get the metal out.
- spoil heapnoun · C2The pile of waste rock left beside a mine.
- spring/ˈspɹɪŋ/noun · B1Water rising naturally out of the ground.
- stalactite/ˈstælæktaɪt/noun · B2A stone spike hanging from a cave roof.
- stalagmite/stəˈlæɡˌmaɪt/noun · B2+A stone spike rising from a cave floor.
- strata/ˈstɹeɪtə/noun · C1The layers rock has been laid down in.
- streak/stɹiːk/noun · C1The colour a mineral leaves when scraped on a plate.
- subsidence/ˈsʌbsɪdəns/noun · C1The sinking of ground into a hollow beneath it.
- talus/ˈteɪləs/noun · C2The heap of rock debris at the foot of a slope.
- tectonicsnoun · C1The study of the great moving plates of the crust.
- topaz/ˈtəʊˌpæz/noun · B2+A hard clear stone, often golden.
- tunnel/ˈtʌn(ə)l/noun · A2+A horizontal passage cut through rock.
- turquoise/ˈtɜː(ɹ).k(w)ɔɪz/noun · B1+A blue-green stone prized since ancient times.
- uplift/ʌpˈlɪft/noun · C1The raising of land by forces below.
- weathering/ˈwɛ.ðə.ɹɪŋ/noun · B2+The breaking down of rock where it lies.
- whetstone/ˈʍɛtˌstoʊn/noun · C1A stone used to sharpen a blade.