Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An absorbent aluminum silicate clay formed from volcanic ash and used in various adhesives, cements, and ceramic fillers.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A variety of clay occurring extensively in the Fort Benton strata of the Cretaceous of Wyoming.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun an absorbent aluminum silicate clay formed from volcanic ash.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun mineralogy Any of several impure clay minerals consisting mostly of montmorillonite.
  • noun A porous clay formed by the decomposition of volcanic ash that swells 5 to 6 times its original volume in the presence of water.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an absorbent aluminum silicate clay formed from volcanic ash

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[After Benton , Formation of the Rock Creek district in eastern Wyoming.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Benton +‎ -ite, after the place it was first mined: Fort Benton, Montana.

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Examples

  • Bentonite is a primary montmorillonite clay mined in the U.S.A., but the term bentonite is often used for other commercial montmorillonite clays as well.

    Chapter 8 1990

  • Sodic bentonite is a type of clay that swells to many times its dry volume when wet.

    Archive 2006-04-02 Edward Willett 2006

  • Sodic bentonite is a type of clay that swells to many times its dry volume when wet.

    The first sentence I wrote today was... Edward Willett 2006

  • Second, there is an additive in that anthrax, bentonite, which is used to cause the anthrax to not stick together, and float in the air.

    Hullabaloo 2008

  • Some investigators think a clay called bentonite was used in the process.

    I Need Scientists! 2007

  • Most conventional cat litter is made from natural clay, or sodium bentonite, which is formed into pellets and dried.

    Grist - the Latest from Grist 2008

  • Most conventional cat litter is made from natural clay, or sodium bentonite, which is formed into pellets and dried.

    Grist - the Latest from Grist 2008

  • Most conventional cat litter is made from natural clay, or sodium bentonite, which is formed into pellets and dried.

    Grist - the Latest from Grist 2008

  • Surround containers with an impermeable backfill such as bentonite clay if the repository is wet.

    Nuclear waste management 2009

  • HEMMER: We've been trying for a couple of days, tossing around this word "bentonite," Major Garrett talked about, this morning, the White House saying it was not present.

    CNN Transcript Oct 29, 2001 2001

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