regolith
noun
reg·o·lith
| \ ˈre-gə-ˌlith
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Definition of regolith
: unconsolidated residual or transported material that overlies the solid rock on the earth, moon, or a planet
Examples of regolith in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Though the moon's surface is mostly made up of the fine regolith, various rocks are scattered throughout. — Ryan W. Miller, USA TODAY, "Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong put a flag on the moon. Here's what you can and can't see in the iconic photo," 19 July 2019 To call these 382 kilograms of stone and regolith (the thick layer of crushed rock and dust that covers the surface of the moon and other planetary bodies) a treasure trove does not do them justice. — Erica Jawin, Scientific American, "Apollo’s Bounty: The Science of the Moon Rocks," 2 July 2019 The helium 3 deposits common in areas of the top layer of lunar regolith could power fusion reactors. — Adam Mann, Scientific American, "The New Scramble for the Moon," 26 June 2019 Then, using a rake, Schmitt scraped the powdery surface, lifting a rock later named troctolite 76536 off the regolith and into history. — Quanta Magazine, "What Made the Moon? New Ideas Try to Rescue a Troubled Theory," 2 Aug. 2017 That's what will happen, most likely next week, if everything below the surface is regolith. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "To Understand How the Earth Formed, and How It Might Disappear, NASA Is Drilling on Mars," 21 Feb. 2019 Even now robotic bulldozers and dump trucks were at work trundling more regolith onto the building across the way. — Andrew Liptak, The Verge, "Read an excerpt from Kim Stanley Robinson’s next book," 18 Oct. 2018 The contact pushes springs that trigger a blast of nitrogen gas that stirs up pieces of the regolith. — Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, "Meet the Spacecraft That's About to Play Tag with an Asteroid," 16 Nov. 2018 Aside from bringing along an extra crop or two—say, some salad greens—he'd grow the plants using hydroponics instead of Martian soil, or regolith, as Watney does. — Michael Belfiore, Popular Mechanics, "Can You Actually Grow Potatoes on Mars?," 28 Sep. 2015These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'regolith.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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