meteorite
meteorite — noun
1. a solid chunk of rock or metal that falls from space and lands on a planet's sur
a solid chunk of rock or metal that falls from space and lands on a planet's surface without burning up completely
Last night, a meteorite crashed into a farmer's field near Buenos Aires.
collocation: meteorite + crash into [place]
By studying the rock, scientists learned that the meteorite came from Mars.
The Natural History Museum displays a large iron meteorite found in the Atacama Desert.
After the meteorite struck, local people gathered around the smoking crater.
A meteorite this size would have damaged a city if it had hit one.
- meteor
a space rock that burns up in the atmosphere; meteorite refers specifically to one that reaches the ground
- space rock
informal term that can mean any rocky object from space, whether in orbit, burning up, or landed
- meteoroid
a space rock still traveling through space before entering an atmosphere