definitions

calcification

[ kal-suh-fi-key-shuh n ]
/ ˌkæl sə fɪˈkeɪ ʃən /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR calcification ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a changing into lime.
Physiology. the deposition of lime or insoluble salts of calcium and magnesium, as in a tissue.
Anatomy, Geology. a calcified formation.
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.
a hardening or solidifying; rigidity: As the conflict developed, there was an increasing calcification of attitudes on both sides.

RELATED WORDS

freezing, coagulation, concretion, setting, petrification, fossilization, crystallization, ossification

Nearby words

calcicole, calcicosis, calciferol, calciferous, calcific, calcification, calcifuge, calcify, calcimine, calcination, calcine

Origin of calcification

First recorded in 1840–50; calcific + -ation
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for calcification

British Dictionary definitions for calcification

calcification

/ (ˌkælsɪfɪˈkeɪʃən) /

noun

the process of calcifying or becoming calcified
pathol a tissue hardened by deposition of lime salts
any calcified object or formation
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

Medicine definitions for calcification

calcification

[ kăl′sə-fĭ-kā′shən ]

n.

Impregnation with calcium or calcium salts.calcareous infiltration
Hardening, as of tissue, by such impregnation.
A calcified substance or part.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Science definitions for calcification

calcification

[ kăl′sə-fĭ-kā′shən ]

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.
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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.