1. a common mineral consisting of iron sulfide, typically brassy yellow in color and metallic in luster, often mistaken for gold.
Usage: also called fool's gold; typically used in singular or plural form

Examples

• The prospector found pyrites in the stream bed, but it was not the gold he hoped for.
• Pyrites has a brassy yellow color that can deceive inexperienced miners.
• The mineral pyrites is often used in the production of sulfuric acid.
• Unlike real gold, pyrites is brittle and will break into cubic fragments.
• Geologists can distinguish pyrites from gold by testing its hardness and weight.
• The fool's gold, or pyrites, sparkled in the sunlight just like genuine gold.