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Definition of "gneiss" []

  • A banded or foliated metamorphic rock, usually of the same composition as granite. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "gneiss" in a sentence
  • "The stratified gneiss, which is the underlying rock of much of this part of the country, dips toward the centre of the continent, but the strata are often so much elevated as to appear nearly on their edges."
  • "Unfortunately, no such thing as earth or gravel existed in which to sink these posts, and the rock being of the variety known as gneiss, was more than ordinarily tough."
  • "All these minerals have once been imbedded in the granitic gneiss, which is the principal rock of the region."
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