granite

Everyday

1. Granite is a very hard, grey, pink or speckled rock made from cooled magma deep under the ground. tree →
2. «Made of granite» can also mean very firm and hard to change. tree →

In the lessons

In science lessons on rocks, granite is an example of an igneous rock: it forms when hot liquid rock cools slowly underground, so it has large crystals you can see (quartz, feldspar, mica). It is hard and does not soak up water, so it is used for kitchen worktops, buildings, monuments and gravestones. Mountains and cliffs in many places are made of granite.

Examples

• Granite is an igneous rock with crystals you can see. tree →
• Our kitchen worktop is made of polished granite. tree →
• The old castle was built from huge granite blocks. tree →
• Granite is harder than chalk or sandstone. tree →
• We looked at a piece of pink granite with a magnifying glass. tree →
• The statue in the park stands on a granite base. tree →
• The climbers scaled a granite cliff. tree →
• The river-horse couches there among the bulrushes, and on a great granite throne sits the God Memnon. tree →

Note

Uncountable: «some granite», «a block of granite», not «a granite». Do not confuse with «granted» or «graphite» (the soft grey material in pencils). Granite is igneous, not sedimentary.