halite

[ hal-ahyt, hey-lahyt ]

noun

1. a soft white or colorless mineral, sodium chloride, NaCl, occurring in cubic crystals with perfect cleavage; rock salt.

halite

/ ˈhælaɪt /

noun

1. a colourless or white mineral sometimes tinted by impurities, found in beds as an evaporite. It is used to produce common salt and chlorine. Composition: sodium chloride. Formula: NaCl. Crystal structure: cubic Also calledrock salt

halite

/ hăl′īt′,hā′līt′ /

1. A colorless or white mineral occurring as cubic crystals. Halite is found in dried lakebeds in arid climates and is used as table salt. Chemical formula: NaCl.
2. See more at salt

Word History and Origins

Origin of halite¹

First recorded in 1865–70; hal- + -ite ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of halite¹

C19: from New Latin halītes; see halo- , -ite ²

Example Sentences

The hard halite surface provided a smooth but grippy 13-mile straightaway for pursuing the ultimate prize in motor sports, the land speed record.

From New York Times

It is also halite precipitation that has created the salt sculptures that first began peeking out above the surface of the Dead Sea about 10 years ago, Mr. Lensky said.

From New York Times

Freese and her colleagues argue that minerals such as halite and zabuyelite are already deep inside Earth and thus are shielded from cosmic rays.

From Nature

“Further down, no bracing is needed; the salt has fused into solid rock” known to geologists as halite, or rock salt, Bohorquez tells us.

From Washington Post

We drove past the Devil’s Golf Course, a jagged expanse of halite salt-crystal formations.

From Washington Post