stalactite
6
8.7
- noun
- /stəˈlæktaɪt/
- Specialized
- As we walked deeper into the cave, we marveled at the beautiful stalactites hanging from the ceiling.
- stalactite and stalagmite
- stalactites hung
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Watch on YouTubeAnd as he goes down to the basement, he realizes that a literal hell with stalactites and stalagmites and hell is in his basement, the real hell.
- And as he goes down to the basement, he realizes that a literal hell with stalactites and stalagmites and hell is in his basement, the real hell.
Examples
-
In the cave, eons of time are marked in drops of water bled from stalactites.
Fiction book (2000) -
From the ceilings of these caves hang amber stalactites and hairy spiders on golden threads.
Academic text (2007) -
One at a time, a clear drop would hang from the stalactite and fall into the pool.
Fiction book (2001) -
Your grandpa brought me down here when I was a little boy to show me what stalactites look like.
-
It takes a stalactite 200 years to grow an inch.
-
I picked up the end of a stalactite five and a quarter inches long, growth rings circling it like armor.
Fiction book (2000) -
A low passage leads to a second cavern lined with stalactites.
Academic text (2011) -
The ceilings and floors were covered in stalactites and stalagmites.
-
The passage broadened into a larger cavern, with stalactites directly over their path.
Fiction book (1992) -
It's quiet there, just the drip-drip sound, the glow of the lights, and all those beautiful shining stalactites and stalagmites.
Fiction book (1994)
Synonyms
1
9.8
Cave rock made when dripping water leaves minerals
How Big
90
1.6
- Specialized
6
8.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
stalactite = stalact + ite
Although built from the Greek combining form 'stalact-' + the productive mineral suffix '-ite', the stem 'stalact-' is not a standalone English word and the meaning is a learned technical term not derivable by an average learner from known English bases.
Etymology
The word stalactite comes from the Greek stalaktos, which means 'to drip', because they form as mineral-rich water drops slowly from a cave roof. A helpful way to remember is that stalactite hangs from the ceiling — think 'tight' holding fast — so a stalactite is a pointed rock hanging down from a cave roof.