breccia

brec·cia | \ ˈbre-ch(ē-)ə

How to pronounce breccia (audio)

\

Definition of breccia

: a rock composed of sharp fragments embedded in a fine-grained matrix (such as sand or clay)

Examples of breccia in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The rock 14321 is a breccia, or a conglomeration of rocks and minerals all cemented together in a mosaic-like pattern. — Jay Bennett, Smithsonian, "Earth’s Oldest Known Rock May Have Been Found on the Moon," 28 Jan. 2019 The astronauts found two main types of rocks at their landing: basalts and breccias, according to the Universities Space Research Association. — Ryan W. Miller, USA TODAY, "Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong put a flag on the moon. Here's what you can and can't see in the iconic photo," 19 July 2019 Small rock fragments are sometimes fused under the intense heat and pressure of the impacts, forming breccias. — Ryan W. Miller, USA TODAY, "Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong put a flag on the moon. Here's what you can and can't see in the iconic photo," 19 July 2019 The Neanderthal’s signature, meanwhile, was more similar to the surrounding breccia. — Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, "Humans may have reached Europe by 210,000 years ago," 10 July 2019 The breccias are fragments of older rocks broken up over the years by meteorites hitting the moon. — Ryan W. Miller, USA TODAY, "Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong put a flag on the moon. Here's what you can and can't see in the iconic photo," 19 July 2019 The breccia was dated to between 100,000 and 190,000 years old at the time. — Ashley Strickland, CNN, "210,000-year-old human skull in Greece is the oldest found outside Africa," 10 July 2019 This March, researchers analyzing an Apollo 14 breccia (a rock type composed of other rock fragments welded together) determined that one of those pieces might not be a moon rock at all. — Erica Jawin, Scientific American, "Apollo’s Bounty: The Science of the Moon Rocks," 2 July 2019 The resulting debris—including small rock chunks, breccias of rock fragments fused together, and glass forged in the high heat of the impact—contained water trapped within. — Jay Bennett, Popular Mechanics, "NASA's High-Speed Cannon Used to Explore the Origins of Water on Earth," 26 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'breccia.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about breccia

Dictionary Entries near breccia

Statistics for breccia

Cite this Entry

“Breccia.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/breccia. Accessed 20 Feb. 2020.

WORD OF THE DAY

judgment

See Definitions and Examples »

Test Your Vocabulary

More Confusing Words—Quiz

The magician ______ moved the selected card to the top of the deck.

discretely discreetly

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.