concretion

[kon-kree-shuhn, kong-]

noun

1. the act or process of concreting or becoming substantial; coalescence; solidification.

2. the state of being concreted.

3. a solid mass formed by or as if by coalescence or cohesion.

   a concretion of melted candies.

4. anything that is made real, tangible, or particular.

5. Pathology.,  a solid or calcified mass in the body formed by a disease process.

6. Geology.,  a rounded mass of mineral matter occurring in sandstone, clay, etc., often in concentric layers about a nucleus.

concretion

/ kənˈkriːʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of coming or growing together; coalescence

2. a solid or solidified mass

3. something made real, tangible, or specific

4. any of various rounded or irregular mineral masses formed by chemical precipitation around a nucleus, such as a bone or shell, that is different in composition from the sedimentary rock that surrounds it

5. pathol another word for calculus

Other Word Forms

• concretionary adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of concretion¹

First recorded in 1535–45; from Latin concrētiōn- (stem of concrētiō ); concrete, -ion

Example Sentences

To find a solution, lead researcher Hidekazu Yoshida of the Nagoya University Museum turned to his expertise in fossil preservation in calcium carbonate concretions.

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The present fossil was discovered in a clay-ironstone concretion in the 1980s by Bob Masek and later acquired by the David and Sandra Douglass Collection and displayed in their Prehistoric Life Museum.

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Farrell is scouring 158 years of “concretion” from one of history’s most famous weapons.

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Rock formations called concretions hid the fossils inside, like chocolate tucked in a candy shell.

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But on a return trip, he split open small boulders called concretions—and found dozens of skulls.

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