phosphate rock
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of phosphate rock
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.
The processing of phosphate rock into fertiliser emits toxic gases such as sulphur dioxide and ammonia.
From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2025
Phosphorus predominantly comes from mining phosphate rock sources, of which there are only a relatively small number of sources located in countries like Morocco and Russia.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 25, 2024
Phosphate fertilizer is made from phosphate rock — a non-renewable resource which is rapidly depleting through agricultural use.
From Salon ● Feb. 23, 2023
Fertilizers are made from phosphate rock that contains naturally occurring uranium and thorium, which decay to radium, and radium decays to the radioactive gas radon, the Environmental Protection Agency says.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 27, 2022
Prior to March 4, 1909, there were four million acres withdrawn from agricultural entry on the ground that the land covered phosphate rock.
From Proceedings of the Second National Conservation Congress at Saint Paul, September 5-8, 1910 by United States. National Conservation Congress
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.
