English Reference

Word

meteorite

Phoneticsme·te·orite

US/ˈmitiɔˌɹaɪt/

UK/mˈiːtɪˌɔːɹaɪt/

Definition

n. a piece of rock or metal from space that has landed on the surface of the Earth.

n. a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or moon.

Examples

“Scientists found a small meteorite in the desert.”

“The museum displays a massive iron meteorite that was discovered by a farmer in the late nineteenth century.”

“By analyzing the chemical composition of the meteorite, researchers can gain valuable insights into the conditions of the early solar system billions of years ago.”

Examples

simple

“Scientists found a small meteorite in the desert.”

contextual

“The museum displays a massive iron meteorite that was discovered by a farmer in the late nineteenth century.”

complex

“By analyzing the chemical composition of the meteorite, researchers can gain valuable insights into the conditions of the early solar system billions of years ago.”

Real-World Examples

“An electric charge lifts it off the ground, and billions of years of tiny meteorite strikes have left every grain sharp and jagged .”
Phys.org · 15 Aug 2026
“The Inuit people from northern Greenland made knives and scrapers from the Cape York meteorites.”
Phys.org · 14 Aug 2026

Etymology

From meteor + -ite.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Word family

Domain

Astronomy

This entry

Level
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Frequent
Updated

Scan code

englishreference.com/q/meteorite

English Reference