1. Plural of elutriation; the process of separating particles of different sizes or densities by washing or suspending them in a liquid and allowing them to settle at different rates.
Usage: technical; chemistry and geology

Examples

• The laboratory performed multiple elutriations to separate the fine clay particles from coarser sand.
• Elutriations are commonly used in mineral processing to classify ore by particle size.
• The geologist relied on elutriations to analyze the sediment composition of the core sample.
• Industrial elutriations help purify raw materials before further processing.