Granite: Grainy by Name, Slow by Nature
Granite is a hard igneous rock full of visible crystals. Those crystals are large because the rock cooled slowly, deep underground.
Granite is an igneous rock made mostly of quartz and feldspar, speckled and hard-wearing. The visible grains are the clue to its history: magma that cools slowly, kilometres down, has time to grow big crystals. Lava that cools fast at the surface makes fine-grained basalt instead.
- A hard crystalline rock. *A granite kerb.*
- Something unyielding (figurative). *A granite expression.*
- Granite as a modifier. *Granite worktops.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | granite | Polished granite. |
| Adjective | granite | A granite step. |
| Adjective | granitic | Granitic rock. |
| Related | basalt | Dark basalt. |
| Related | igneous | Igneous rock. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The building is faced with grey granite.Common in civic architecture.
- Aberdeen is known as the Granite City.Built largely from local stone.
- She met the question with granite calm.Figurative: hard and unmoved.
Rock types in one line each
- Igneous — cooled from molten rock (granite, basalt)
- Sedimentary — laid down in layers (sandstone, limestone)
- Metamorphic — changed by heat and pressure (marble, slate)
- Quartz — the glassy grains in granite
- Feldspar — the pink or white grains beside them
From Italian *granito*, grained, from *grano*, grain, from Latin *granum*. The name describes exactly what you see on a cut face.
Why does granite have visible crystals?
Because it cooled slowly underground. Slow cooling gives crystals time to grow large enough to see.
Granite or marble for a worktop?
Granite is harder and more resistant to acid. Marble is softer and stains more easily, but many people prefer its appearance.