Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A sedimentary rock, usually limestone, consisting of ooliths that are cemented together.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun geology A rock consisting of spherical grains within a mineral cortex accreted around a nucleus, often of quartz grains.
  • noun countable, rare An ooid or oolith.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From oo- + -lite, after German Oolit.

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Examples

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  • ~ A variety of limestone, consisting of small round grains, resembling the roe of a fish.

    ~ Rock composed of small concretions, usually of calcium carbonate, containing a nucleus and clearly defined concentric shells.

    ~ Oolite sometimes constitutes extensive beds, as in the European Jurassic. In the British Isles oolitic limestone is characteristic of the middle and upper Jurassic

    ~ Origin: German ~ An egg.

    January 18, 2009