Standard Lemma guide

zeolite

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

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Any of several minerals, aluminosilicates of sodium, potassium, calcium or magnesium, that have a porous structure (originally, those which swelled and gave off water when heated); they are used in water softeners, in ion exchange chromatography, and as industrial catalysts.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: chemistry, geography, geology, mineralogy, natural-sciences, physical-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

any of a family of glassy minerals analogous to feldspar containing hydrated aluminum silicates of calcium or sodium or potassium; formed in cavities in lava flows and in plutonic rocks

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: mineral, water softener

Narrower terms: chabazite, chabasite, heulandite, natrolite, phillipsite

History

Etymology

From Swedish zeolit, and its source, New Latin zeolites, from Ancient Greek ζέω (zéō, “to boil, bubble”) + -lite.

Across languages

Translations

10 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 沸石 (fèishí) — mineral
  • Dutch: zeoliet — mineral
  • Esperanto: zeolito — mineral
  • Finnish: zeoliitti — mineral
  • French: zéolithe — mineral
  • Ido: zeolito — mineral
  • Malay: zeolit — mineral
  • Persian: زئولیت (ze'olit) — mineral
  • Portuguese: zeólita — mineral
  • Swedish: zeolit — mineral