From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsilicatesil‧i‧cate /ˈsɪlɪkeɪt, -kət/ noun [countable, uncountable] technical HEGone of a group of common solid mineral substances that exist naturally in the earth
Examples from the Corpus
silicate• For one, Earth has an iron core and a silicate mantle.• It was at this time too that W. L. Bragg was beginning to unravel the complex structures of the crystalline silicates.• These form a group of double silicates made up of varying pairs of minerals grading into each other without necessarily showing sharp boundaries.• The most difficult volatiles to dislodge will be those borne in compounds such as carbonates and hydroxy silicates.• Aluminium likes silicon: it has a greater affinity for inorganic silicate than for anything else.• These interfering substances are adsorbed on to zeolite, silicic acid, or magnesium silicate.• The precise pattern of sheet silicates, such as the micas, muscovite, and biotite, differ.• Groups of carbonate ions are arranged in sheets in a manner somewhat like that of the sheet silicates. 