noun
: a fluorescent crystalline insoluble salt ZrSiO 4 that occurs in nature as zircon and can be obtained synthetically by mixing solutions of sodium silicate and a soluble zirconium salt (as zirconium oxychloride), that is decomposed into zirconium oxide at high temperatures, and that is used in refractories, in electric insulation, in abrasives, and in enamels and porcelains