calcite

American

[kal-sahyt] / ˈkæl saɪt /

noun

one of the commonest minerals, calcium carbonate, CaCO 3 , found in a great variety of crystalline forms: a major constituent of limestone, marble, and chalk; calc-spar.

calcite British

/ ˈkælsaɪt /

noun

a colourless or white mineral (occasionally tinged with impurities), found in sedimentary and metamorphic rocks, in veins, in limestone, and in stalagmites and stalactites. It is used in the manufacture of cement, plaster, paint, glass, and fertilizer. Composition: calcium carbonate. Formula: CaCO 3 . Crystal structure: hexagonal (rhombohedral)

"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

calcite Scientific

/ kăl′sīt′ /

A usually white, clear, pale-yellow or blue orthorhombic mineral. Calcite occurs in many different forms and is the main component of chalk, limestone, and marble. It is a polymorph of aragonite. Chemical formula: CaCO ₃ .

Other Word Forms

calcitic

adjective

Etymology

Origin of calcite

First recorded in 1840–50; calc- + -ite ¹

Compare meaning

How does calcite compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

aragonite vs. calcite

Vocabulary lists containing calcite

Rocks and Minerals - Middle School and High School

Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!

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:

calcite

It was rediscovered in 2022 after decades of being overlooked by archaeologists, partially due to the calcite flow on top of it making the rock art difficult to see.

From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026

"The calcite crystals inside the bone acted like a natural clock, allowing us to refine the age of the site," says Zhao.

From Science Daily ● May 9, 2026

“I was in the studio one day, working on this piece of honeycomb calcite, and I just went numb,” she recalls.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 23, 2024

Deciphering the chemical composition of each individual page—each thin, calcite layer—gives scientists a diary of the seawater through which the animal journeyed as it built its shell.

From National Geographic ● Aug. 23, 2023

Sundry gold-reefs in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and Bohemia are full of calcite.

From The Romance of Industry and Invention by Robert Cochrane

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023