smectite

American  

[smek-tahyt] / ˈsmɛkˌtaɪt /

noun

Mineralogy.

1. montmorillonite.

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smectite British  

/ ˈsmɛktaɪt /

noun

1. any of a group of clay minerals of which montmorillonite and saponite are members

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Etymology

Origin of smectite

1805–15; < Greek smēkt ( ós ) smeared + -ite ¹

Example Sentences

These clays can be found in certain tectonically active regions today, and the scientists believe that smectite continues to sequester carbon, providing a natural, albeit slow-acting, buffer against humans' climate-warming activities.

From Science Daily • Nov. 30, 2023

Sorting out the food problem may also take time, but within several months someone might have been able to knock up a polytunnel to grow a couple of undersized cabbages in the smectite clay.

From The Guardian • Aug. 4, 2015

For example, pyroxene can be converted to the clay minerals chlorite or smectite, and olivine can be converted to the clay mineral serpentine.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

In one place, these clays are of an iron-rich variety called smectite.

From BBC • Jan. 24, 2014

The American Bottom clay, known as smectite clay, is especially prone to swelling: its volume can increase by a factor of eight.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann