From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbasaltbas‧alt /ˈbæsɔːlt, bəˈsɔːlt $ ˈbæsɒːlt, ˈbeɪ-/ noun [uncountable] HEGa type of dark green-black rock
Examples from the Corpus
basalt• A basalt flow can advance over a kilometre of flat ground in a matter of hours; an andesite may take months.• Although anorthosite and basalt are the dominant rocks on the Moon, significant amounts of several other related rock types occur.• Ocean island and continental flood basalt occurrences represent different expressions of plume activity.• There are beaches of rounded grey basalt pebbles of varying sizes elsewhere around the island.• Small Jerichos plaster patches of basalt in the new flows of warm water.• Hot water poured out the tops of basalt pillars that normally stand as cold obelisks in the middle of drained-back lava ponds.• The wind gusts now and then, but the sun on the basalt is warm.• Closed basins as deep as 135 feet were bitten out of the underlying basalt.Origin basalt (1600-1700) Latin basaltes, from Greek basanos “stone used to test the purity of gold”, from Egyptian bhnw 