: a yellow to red or brown mineral that is a phosphate of thorium and various rare earth elements and occurs especially in sand and gravel deposits

Examples of monazite in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The same system, most of which was installed in the late 1970s or early ‘80s, has been modified to also process the rare earth-bearing monazite sands on a smaller scale. Zak Podmore, The Salt Lake Tribune, 26 Sep. 2021 The project involves processing monazite sands in Utah to produce rare earth carbonates, then shipping them to Estonia for processing. Mary Hui, Quartz, 5 Apr. 2023

Word History

Etymology

German Monazit, from Greek monazein

First Known Use

1836, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of monazite was in 1836

Dictionary Entries Near monazite

Cite this Entry

“Monazite.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/monazite. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.

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