TRIDYMITE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does tridymite mean? 

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

1. a mineral form of silica

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

 Dictionary entry details 

• TRIDYMITE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A mineral form of silica

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

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

mineral (solid homogeneous inorganic substances occurring in nature having a definite chemical composition)

Meronyms (substance of "tridymite"):

silica; silicon dioxide; silicon oxide (a white or colorless vitreous insoluble solid (SiO2); various forms occur widely in the earth's crust as quartz or cristobalite or tridymite or lechatelierite)

 Context examples 

This detection was a surprise to the scientists, because tridymite is generally associated with silicic volcanism, which is known on Earth but was not thought to be important or even present on Mars.

(NASA Scientists Discover Unexpected Mineral on Mars, NASA)

The discovery of tridymite might induce scientists to rethink the volcanic history of Mars, suggesting that the planet once had explosive volcanoes that led to the presence of the mineral.

(NASA Scientists Discover Unexpected Mineral on Mars, NASA)

Analyzing data from an X-ray diffraction instrument on the rover that identifies minerals, scientists detected significant amounts of a silica mineral called tridymite.

(NASA Scientists Discover Unexpected Mineral on Mars, NASA)