carbonate
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
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to form into a carbonate.
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to charge or impregnate with carbon dioxide.
carbonated drinks.
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to make sprightly; enliven.
noun
verb
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to form or turn into a carbonate
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(tr) to treat with carbon dioxide or carbonic acid, as in the manufacture of soft drinks
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A salt or ester of carbonic acid, containing the group CO 3. The reaction of carbonic acid with a metal results in a salt (such as sodium carbonate), and the reaction of carbonic acid with an organic compound results in an ester (such as diethyl carbonate).
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Any other compound containing the group CO 3. Carbonates include minerals such as calcite and aragonite.
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Sediment or a sedimentary rock formed by the precipitation of organic or inorganic carbon from an aqueous solution of carbonates of calcium, magnesium, or iron. Limestone is a carbonate rock.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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carbonatornoun
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noncarbonatenoun
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noncarbonatedadjective
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semicarbonateadjective
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uncarbonatedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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carbonatesimple
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carbonatessimple
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have carbonatedperfect
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has carbonatedperfect
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am carbonatingprogressive
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are carbonatingprogressive
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is carbonatingprogressive
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have been carbonatingperfect progressive
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has been carbonatingperfect progressive
Past
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carbonatedsimple
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had carbonatedperfect
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was carbonatingprogressive
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were carbonatingprogressive
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had been carbonatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of carbonate
1785–95; carbon(ic acid) + -ate 2, later taken as -ate 1
Vocabulary lists containing carbonate
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.
The Black Giant project aims to produce 52,500 metric tons of lithium carbonate annually by 2030.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 6, 2026
The world-renowned site features iron carbonate concretions that formed some 309 million years ago, fossilizing within them ancient creatures that had once thrived in the area's lush swamps, shallow seas and river deltas.
From Barron's • Jun. 18, 2026
More interesting for Bott than the climate benefit is the way calcium carbonate makes water more alkaline.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
Combining these findings, researchers developed a model of Mars' modern chlorine cycle and airborne carbonate formation.
From Science Daily • Apr. 5, 2026
One day it’s a cluster of rare magnesium hydroxy carbonate; the next it’s a star sapphire that will set a man’s hand on fire if he touches it.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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.
