Which process converts loose sediment into sedimentary rock?

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Lithification is the process that converts loose sediment into sedimentary rock. After sediment is deposited, burial under additional layers increases pressure and compacting squeezes out some pore water, reducing space between grains. Minerals dissolved in groundwater then precipitate and act as a cement to bind the grains together. This combination of compaction and cementation turns loose sediment into a solid rock, a process often described as diagenesis. By contrast, weathering breaks rocks into sediment, melting turns rocks into liquid, and metamorphism alters minerals within a rock to form metamorphic rocks, not sedimentary ones.