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Definition of "barite" [ba•rite]

  • A yellow, white, or colorless crystalline mineral of barium sulfate, BaSO4, that is used in paint and as the chief source of barium chemicals. Also called heavy spar. (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 "barite" in a sentence
  • "About 200 are involved in exploration, and about 40 are running mines that are producing gold, silver, lead and other minerals including barite, which is used in oil and gas exploration."
  • "In this case, the loss involved the drilling mud (water and clay with dense additives such as barite or hematite) that we've all heard so much about."
  • "A spokesman for Calgary-based Blackfire Exploration Ltd. confirmed that an employee, a former employee and a one-time company contractor were arrested in the Nov. 27 murder of Mariano Abarca Robledo, who had led local opposition against Blackfire's barite mine in Chicomuselo, Chiapas. (south of Comitan)"