calcification

American  

[kal-suh-fi-kay-shuhn] / ˌkæl sə fɪˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

• calcifications
  plural

1. a changing into lime.

2. Physiology. the deposition of lime or insoluble salts of calcium and magnesium, as in a tissue.

3. Anatomy, Geology. a calcified formation.

4. a soil process in which the surface soil is supplied with calcium in such a way that the soil colloids are always close to saturation.

5. a hardening or solidifying; rigidity.

   As the conflict developed, there was an increasing calcification of attitudes on both sides.

---

calcification British  

/ ˌkælsɪfɪˈkeɪʃən /

noun

1. the process of calcifying or becoming calcified

2. pathol a tissue hardened by deposition of lime salts

3. any calcified object or formation

---

calcification Scientific  

/ kăl′sə-fĭ-kā′shən /

1. Medicine

   1. The accumulation of calcium or calcium salts in a body tissue. Calcification normally occurs in the formation of bone, but can be deposited abnormally, as in the lungs.

   2. A structure that has undergone calcification.

2. Geology

   1. The replacement of organic material, especially original hard material such as bone, with calcium carbonate during the process of fossilization.

   2. The accumulation of calcium in certain soils, especially soils of cool temperate regions where leaching takes place very slowly.

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• calcifications
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of calcification

First recorded in 1840–50; calcific + -ation

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

calcification calcifications

As a result, Chicago suffers from a “sclerotic calcification of unneeded labor costs,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

Repeated exposure to live P. gingivalis caused the bacteria to accumulate in the aortic valves of mice, leading to greater valve calcification and symptoms of aortic stenosis.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026

She stated the actual cause of death was narrowing and "calcification of his coronary arteries due to old age".

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2025

For type 2 diabetes, the analyses show that so-called bad cholesterol plays a major role in carotid artery calcification, and that lower levels of triglycerides significantly reduce the risk of peripheral arterial disease.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 28, 2024

Cases have been reported of calcification of the arteries in infants and children.

From Arteriosclerosis and Hypertension: with Chapters on Blood Pressure, 3rd Edition. by Louis Marshall Warfield

“One of the reasons why clinicians use this is because there is data that shows when there are coronary calcifications patients are more likely to take medications and to adopt other preventive therapies,” he says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026

“No significant masses, calcifications or other findings are seen in either breast.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026

The complete absence of coronary calcifications, on the other hand, is a good indicator of the absence of advanced atherosclerosis.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 5, 2024

Cespedes will undergo a pair of surgeries to remove calcifications in both of his heels, an ailment that has bothered him dating back to his teenage years.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 26, 2018

Has she spotted the characteristic calcifications of malignancy?

From New York Times ● Jul. 19, 2010

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---