There are three types of meteorites. Most are stony meteorites---made of rock, with a little iron mixed in. Iron meteorites are mostly iron, with some nickel mixed in. The last---stony iron---is a half rock and half iron. Then there are micrometeorites, small meteorites the size of a dust particle. Because they are so small, they do not burn up on earth entry. Usually meteorites display most, if not all, of these defining characteristics.
Regmaglypts look like mini craters on the surface of the rock. Ablation (removal of the surface material) due to friction causes these shallow indentations that look like fingerprints on wet clay.
A meteorite has to withstand extremely high temperatures on its journey to earth. This heat and resultant friction burns off the outermost layer of the rock. The fusion crust---can be several millimeters thick-- is the inner resolidified layer. It is generally a burnt black color that wears down to brown after several years on the earth. The leading edge, which faces the fiery entry, has a thinner crust than the trailing side.
These are small, spherical, stony objects embedded in the meteorite, rather like raisins in a pudding. The word comes from chondros, the Greek word for grain. Since the rock embeds the chondrules, you would have to break it open to confirm their presence.
Generally, iron meteorites are 3.5 times heavier and stony meteorites are 1.5 times as heavy as terrestrial rocks. However, earth rocks are heavy too, so you should compare the densities of the rocks. That is, compare both the weight and the volume---how heavy the rock is for its size.
Since meteorites contain iron and nickel, they would attract a magnet. This magnetism is a characteristic of meteorites but not a definitive test---magnetite is magnetic too. If the rock leaves a mark on the unfinished surface of a tile, or on rough concrete, then it definitely is not a meteorite. However, meteorites contain about seven percent nickel and terrestrial rocks generally do not. Therefore, if a chemical analysis reveals nickel the rock definitely is a meteorite.
The interior of an iron meteorite has a silvery sheen. It is dense---no holes, bubbles or crystals. Stony iron meteorites contain bits of metal evenly distributed throughout the rock. Their composition is half metal, half green or orange olivine.