calcium phosphate
Americannoun
noun
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the insoluble nonacid calcium salt of orthophosphoric acid (phosphoric(V) acid): it occurs in bones and is the main constituent of bone ash. Formula: Ca 3 (PO 4 ) 2
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any calcium salt of a phosphoric acid. Calcium phosphates are found in many rocks and used esp in fertilizers
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Any of three powdery phosphates of calcium:
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A colorless powder used in baking powders, as a plant food, as a plastic stabilizer, and in glass. Calcium phosphate is deliquescent, and will dissolve in the water it absorbs from the atmosphere if it is not kept in a closed container. Chemical formula: Ca(H 2 PO 4 ) 2 .
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A white crystalline powder used as an animal food, as a plastic stabilizer, and in glass and toothpaste. Chemical formula: CaHPO 4 .
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A white powder that is used in ceramics, rubber, fertilizers, and for various purposes in the food industry. Chemical formula: Ca 3 (PO 4 ) 2 .
Etymology
Origin of calcium phosphate
First recorded in 1865–70
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.
In food, calcium phosphate is used as a whitening agent.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2025
The FDA is instead encouraging the use of so-called natural food dyes such as gardenia blue and calcium phosphate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2025
In most lakes the dissolved phosphate quickly combines with calcium to form calcium phosphate, the insoluble material that makes up our tooth enamel.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 22, 2024
Paleontologists are particularly fond of the fossil-building mineral calcium phosphate because it can preserve soft organs in exquisite detail—sometimes all the way down to cell nuclei.
From Scientific American ● Nov. 24, 2022
The dinies' teeth weren't mere calcium phosphate, like other beasts.
From Attention Saint Patrick by Leinster, Murray
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
