Standard Lemma guide

tektite

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A small, round, dark glassy object, composed of silicates, formed by the rapid cooling of molten ejecta from meteorite impacts.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

thought to derive from meteorites

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: natural glass

History

Etymology

From Ancient Greek τηκτός (tēktós, “molten”), from τήκειν (tḗkein, “to melt”).

Across languages

Translations

5 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Czech: tektit — a glassy object formed from a meteor hitting the earth
  • French: tectite — a glassy object formed from a meteor hitting the earth
  • German: Tektit — a glassy object formed from a meteor hitting the earth
  • Russian: текти́т (tektít) — a glassy object formed from a meteor hitting the earth
  • Spanish: tectita — a glassy object formed from a meteor hitting the earth