SAPROLITE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does saprolite mean? 

• SAPROLITE (noun)
  The noun SAPROLITE has 1 sense:

1. a deposit of clay and disintegrating rock that is found in its original place

  Familiarity information: SAPROLITE used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SAPROLITE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A deposit of clay and disintegrating rock that is found in its original place

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("saprolite" is a kind of...):

earth; ground (the loose soft material that makes up a large part of the land surface)

 Context examples 

In mountain landscapes, saprolite may be the only thing keeping forests alive during times of drought.

(Study explores how rock expands near soil surface in Sierra Nevada, National Science Foundation)

Saprolite, which Riebe refers to as rotten rock, is the zone of weathered rock that retains the relative positions of mineral grains of the parent bedrock and lies between the layer of soil and harder rock underneath.

(Study explores how rock expands near soil surface in Sierra Nevada, National Science Foundation)