calcium carbonate

noun

1. a white, crystalline, water-insoluble, tasteless powder, CaCO 3 , occurring in nature in various forms, as calcite, chalk, and limestone: used chiefly in dentifrices and polishes and in the manufacture of lime and cement.

calcium carbonate

noun

1. a white crystalline salt occurring in limestone, chalk, marble, calcite, coral, and pearl: used in the production of lime and cement. Formula: CaCO 3

calcium carbonate

1. A white or colorless crystalline compound occurring naturally in chalk, limestone, and marble and in the minerals calcite and aragonite. It is used to make toothpaste, white paint, and cleaning powder. Chemical formula: CaCO ₃ .

Word History and Origins

Origin of calcium carbonate¹

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

Some of these animals can photosynthesize like plants; some harvest algae and seawater to make calcium carbonate for their underwater castles; some produce their own light or glow in the dark.

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Only calcium carbonate and alpha alumina are abundant enough to be feasible at scale, yet both face serious technical problems during dispersion.

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These single-celled algae, which contain chlorophyll, float in the sunlit layers of the sea and are coated with calcium carbonate plates known as coccoliths.

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Over decades, Los Angeles’ reliance on water from nearby creeks lowered the lake level and left exposed its craggy tufa towers, formations of calcium carbonate that grew underwater around springs.

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Garrett stops to describe how the towers of calcium carbonate grew underwater around freshwater springs over thousands of years, then were left exposed as the water dropped.

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