[mee-tee-uh-rahyt] 
| 1. | a mass of stone or metal that has reached the earth from outer space; a fallen meteoroid. |
| 2. | a meteoroid. |
| me·te·or·ite (mē'tē-ə-rīt') n. A stony or metallic mass of matter that has fallen to the earth's surface from outer space. me'te·or·it'ic (-ə-rĭt'ĭk), me'te·or·it'i·cal adj. |
Objects from outside the Earth that enter the Earth's field of gravitation and fall to the Earth's surface. Meteors, on the other hand, are objects from space that burn up in the Earth's atmosphere.
Note: Meteorites are bodies that are left over from the time when the planets formed, and therefore give us clues about the formation of the solar system.
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