sinter

noun

1. An alluvial sediment deposited by a mineral spring.

   “That water at a high temperature can hold quartz in solution is well illustrated by the deposits of silicious sinter, thrown down by thermal springs, […]”

   “It has steaming lakes, pools, and streams, healing baths and springs, acidulous basins of emerald, opal, and orange, and tinted terraces of sinter.”

2. A mass formed by sintering.

   “Consider a copper sinter material with spherical sinter particles in an early stage of the sintering process, see Fig. 3.5(a).”

3. A mixture of iron ore and fluxes added to a blast furnace.

   “A combination of fully and partly automatic working provides speed, efficiency and manpower economy in unloading coal, home ore, foreign ore and coke and concentrates from incoming wagons and loading outgoing wagons for despatch to the company's Ebbw works with export ore and sinter.”

verb

1. To heat a compacted powder mass to form a hardened mass.

   “Most, if not all, metals may be sintered.”

   “A properly made, fully sintered and fully annealed metal clay piece should be able to stand up to any traditional metalsmithing technique.”