carbonate
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
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carbonates,
present (3rd person singular)
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carbonated,
past participle, past
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carbonating
present participle
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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.
See Examples For:
"There are mandatory vitamins and minerals which manufacturers in the UK are required to add to white wheat flour such as calcium carbonate, niacin and thiamin," she says.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
R3 Lithium, a Covington, Ga.-based startup producing lithium carbonate from recycled battery materials, collected $15 million in Series A funding from investors including TDK Ventures and Axial Partners.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
Coral can live for decades or centuries, and they form a skeleton of calcium carbonate layers as they grow, kind of like rings on a tree.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
The sodium carbonate can also be transformed into calcium carbonate through a straightforward recovery process.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 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
These included gypsum, carbonates, basalts, dunite, and anorthosite.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 8, 2026
Further tests showed that the formation of carbonates and salts was suppressed, while there was no loss of CO2 or electrolyte.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 29, 2024
Analysis of Phaethon's infrared spectrum showed that the asteroid was composed of at least olivine, carbonates, iron sulfides, and oxide minerals.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 28, 2023
Take limestone, a chalky rock rich in minerals called carbonates.
From National Geographic ● Oct. 12, 2023
Like Venus, the Earth also has about 90 atmospheres of carbon dioxide; but it resides in the crust as limestone and other carbonates, not in the atmosphere.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
The company’s new product portfolio includes Beyond Starmatter protein powder, Beyond Starcut beef-jerky-style bars and Beyond Immerse, a line of protein-heavy carbonated beverages that recently came out of testing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
“I definitely wouldn’t do anything carbonated before a game. Makes you burp and all that kind of stuff.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026
For the study, sugar-sweetened beverages included carbonated beverages, punch, lemonade and sports drinks.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026
Soda syrup and carbonated water were kept just above freezing to trap more carbon dioxide and increase the fizz.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026
He had chosen to rise in a balloon, convinced that the spectacle of a gigantic balloon suspended in the clouds would be an irresistible form of publicity for almost any carbonated drink.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
"So I think carbonating it and adding fruit flavour makes it more interesting. That's the real innovation."
From BBC ● Feb. 23, 2025
He also recommended carbonating the blend and making something like a homemade yuzu soda — truly the perfect way to “Make it Fancy.”
From Salon ● Apr. 24, 2024
However, according to NAS, fully carbonating these wastes could require building costly plants to speed the reactions.
From Science Magazine ● Sep. 3, 2020
Or it may contain additives such as “flavour enhancers, colours, emulsifiers, emulsifying salts, sweeteners, thickeners and anti-foaming, bulking, carbonating, foaming, gelling and glazing agents”.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 12, 2020
As a source of nitrogen I used the gases escaping from the carbonating towers of the ammonia-soda process.
From Scientific American Supplement, No. 717, September 28, 1889 by Various
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