: a rock resembling flint and consisting essentially of a large amount of fibrous chalcedony with smaller amounts of cryptocrystalline quartz and amorphous silica
cherty
ˈchər-tē How to pronounce chert (audio)
ˈcha-
adjective

Examples of chert in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Enlarge / Black chert with bands of white chert formed in low-energy environment prior to S2 impact. Alka Tripathy-Lang, Ars Technica, 26 Jan. 2024 Still, the microorganisms Schopf discovered in the chert in Western Australia may not be the oldest fossil evidence of life on the planet. Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 14 Jan. 2022 This ratio revealed that the shapes preserved in the chert were characteristic of biological matter. Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 14 Jan. 2022 Most of the tools and arrows the researchers examined were made of chert, a sedimentary rock. Mark Barna, Discover Magazine, 20 June 2018 The soil was loose, and flecked with slivers of chert. Rachel Monroe, The New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2022 The water was ice-cold and filtered through the chert and limestone of the country and tasted as though civilization was still something in the future. Sebastian Junger, Outside Online, 19 May 2021 The Southern Pomo built tule balsa rafts and lived in tule huts all over the Santa Rosa Plain, fishing for salmon with hooks chipped from chert. Carolyn Wells, Longreads, 24 Mar. 2022 Most of the blade-like remnants are smaller than two centimeters and are made from chert and quartz. Jane Recker, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Mar. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'chert.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

1679, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of chert was in 1679

Dictionary Entries Near chert

Cite this Entry

“Chert.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chert. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

chert

noun
: a rock resembling flint and consisting mostly of chalcedony that can be separated into fibers and smaller amounts of very fine crystalline quartz and silica that is not crystallized

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