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# shale

noun (shale — usually uncountable)

«shale» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Shale is a soft grey or dark rock made of hardened mud or clay that splits easily into thin flat layers. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/shale/#m1)
2. Shale is also a source of oil and gas that companies drill for. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/shale/#m2)

### In the lessons

In geography and science it is a sedimentary rock, made when mud settles and is pressed over millions of years; fossils are often found in it; in news it comes with «shale gas» and «fracking»; phrases: shale gas, shale oil, oil shale.

### Examples

- The cliff was made of crumbly grey shale. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/shale/#x1)
- Shale splits into thin flakes when you tap it. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/shale/#x2)
- We found a fossil fern in a piece of shale. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/shale/#x3)
- Shale is a sedimentary rock made from mud. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/shale/#x4)
- Some companies drill deep into shale to get gas. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/shale/#x5)
- The path was slippery with loose shale. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/shale/#x6)

### Note

Usually uncountable: «some shale», «a piece of shale». Do not confuse with «slate», which is shale changed by heat and pressure into a harder rock; and with «shell».

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «shale» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/shale/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«shale» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/shale.html) on Mova free.