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Glite Dictionary
clastic rock

clastic rock

7.2
A rock that forms when small pieces of older rocks press and stick together
  • noun
  • /ˈklæstɪk rɑk/
  • Specialized
translation icon : roca clástica
  • Sandstone is a common type of clastic rock formed from compacted sand grains.

Examples

  • Geologists study clastic rocks to understand sedimentary processes and the history of Earth's surface.

  • A typical clastic rock consists of particles that have been transported from their original location.

  • A clastic rock can contain fragments of many different minerals or older rocks.

  • A clastic rock is formed from weathered materials.

  • Sedimentary layers often contain clastic rocks.

  • Sandstone, as a type of clastic rock, is created from the compaction of sand grains over time.

  • Geologists often collect samples of clastic rock to study the processes that shaped them.

Surface Forms

clastic rock singular
clastic rocks plural

Morphology

clastic + rock

The noun phrase is directly compositional: 'clastic' means formed from transported rock fragments and 'rock' names the material, so the combined meaning is simply 'rock made of fragments.' This adjective+noun pattern is a regular, cross-linguistically common formation and would be understandable to a B1 learner who already knows both constituent meanings.

Etymology

Clastic rock comes from a Greek word: clastic comes from 'klastos', meaning 'broken'. It refers to a rock made of many small broken pieces of older rocks that were moved and then stuck together, so the name helps you remember that the rock is built from fragments.