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calcareous

American  
[kal-kair-ee-uhs] / kælˈkɛər i əs /

adjective

  1. of, containing, or like calcium carbonate; chalky.

    calcareous earth.


calcareous British  
/ kælˈkɛərɪəs /

adjective

  1. of, containing, or resembling calcium carbonate; chalky

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

calcareous Scientific  
/ kăl-kârē-əs /
  1. Composed of or containing calcium or calcium carbonate. Calcareous rocks contain as much as 50 percent calcium carbonate.


Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Etymology

Origin of calcareous

1670–80; variant of calcarious < Latin calcārius of lime; see calx, -ary ( def. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Many calcareous plankton species that normally sink to the ocean floor disappeared during the extinction event.

From Science Daily • Mar. 15, 2026

The researchers analysed the isotopic composition of oxygen in a stalagmite formed from calcareous water in a cave in southern Germany.

From Science Daily • Jan. 17, 2024

The permit, which Science has seen, authorized Frey to transport “two boxes containing calcareous samples with fossils, without any commercial value, with the main objective to proceed with paleontological studies” at SMNK.

From Science Magazine • Sep. 29, 2021

Though I had to swallow some disappointment to see it, Abbé’s fumaroles, built up over millennia by the accretion of calcareous mineral deposits, still presented an astonishing panorama.

From New York Times • Apr. 8, 2019

“He had to move back,” Yossarian argued in a vain effort to cheer up the glum, barrel-chested Indian, whose well-knit sorrel-red face had degenerated rapidly into a dilapidated, calcareous gray.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

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