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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-kâr′ē-əs /
  1. Composed of or containing calcium or calcium carbonate. Calcareous rocks contain as much as 50 percent calcium carbonate.


Other Word 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.

See Examples For:

The newly described fossils of C. praecursor were found in calcareous claystone concretions in the Tesnus Formation of the Marathon Uplift in western Texas.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026

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

From Science Daily ● Mar. 15, 2026

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

I believe I smelled the sea rocks and the kelp and the excitement of churning sea water, the sharpness of iodine and the under odor of washed and ground calcareous shells.

From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck

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