breccia
[ brech-ee-uh, bresh- ]
/ ˈbrɛtʃ i ə, ˈbrɛʃ- /
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noun Petrology.
rock composed of angular fragments of older rocks melded together.
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Origin of breccia
1765–75; <Italian <Germanic; compare Old High German brecha breaking
Words nearby breccia
breath sounds, breathtaking, breath test, breathy, B. Rec., breccia, brecciate, Brecht, Breckinridge, Brecknockshire, Brecksville
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for breccia
British Dictionary definitions for breccia
breccia
/ (ˈbrɛtʃɪə) /
noun
a rock consisting of angular fragments embedded in a finer matrix, formed by erosion, impact, volcanic activity, etc
Derived forms of breccia
brecciated, adjectiveWord Origin for breccia
C18: from Italian, from Old High German brecha a fragment; see breach
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Scientific definitions for breccia
breccia
[ brĕch′ē-ə, brĕch′ə, brĕsh′- ]
A rock composed of angular fragments embedded in a fine-grained matrix. Breccias form from explosive volcanic ejections, the compaction of talus, or plate tectonic processes. Breccias are different from conglomerates in that the fragments they contain are angular instead of rounded.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.