'Meteorite' definitions:
Definition of 'meteorite'
From: WordNet
noun
Stony or metallic object that is the remains of a meteoroid that has reached the earth's surface
Definition of 'Meteorite'
From: GCIDE
- Meteorite \Me"te*or*ite\, n. [Cf. F. m['e]t['e]orite.] (Min.) A mass of stone or iron which has fallen to the earth from space; an aerolite. [1913 Webster]
- Note: Meteorites usually show a pitted surface with a fused crust, caused by the heat developed in their rapid passage through the earth's atmosphere. A meteorite may consist: 1. Of metallic iron, alloyed with a small percentage of nickel (meteoric iron, holosiderite). When etched this usually exhibits peculiar crystalline figures, called Widmanst[aum]tten figures. 2. Of a cellular mass of iron with imbedded silicates (mesosiderite or siderolite). 3. Of a stony mass of silicates with little iron (meteoric stone, sporadosiderite). 4. Of a mass without iron (asiderite). [1913 Webster]