calcium carbonate

noun

: a compound CaCO₃ found in nature as calcite and aragonite and in plant ashes, bones, and shells and used especially in making lime and Portland cement and as a gastric antacid

Examples of calcium carbonate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Nature Made Multi for Him has a small dose of calcium in the form of calcium carbonate (160mg or 12% DV). —Allison Knott, Ms, Rdn, Cssd, Health, 26 Sep. 2024

But limestone, also known as calcium carbonate, also reacts directly with carbon dioxide in the water, turning it into a stable bicarbonate that sinks to the bottom and keeps the carbon there more or less permanently, allowing the water to absorb more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. —New Atlas, 24 Sep. 2024

Key Similarities and Differences Common active ingredients in Maalox and Mylanta include aluminum hydroxide, magnesium hydroxide, calcium carbonate, and simethicone. —Alex Yampolsky, Verywell Health, 11 Sep. 2024

The main problem appears to be that acidification, which removes calcium carbonate from the soil, leads to a reduction in the number of snails, whose shells provide calcium for nesting birds readying themselves to lay. —Jules Howard, TIME, 4 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1868, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

calcium carbonate

noun

: a solid substance found in nature as limestone and marble and in plant ashes, bones, and shells and used especially in making lime and portland cement

Medical Definition

calcium carbonate

noun

: a calcium salt CaCO₃ that is found in limestone, chalk, marble, plant ashes, bones, and many shells, that is obtained also as a white precipitate by passing carbon dioxide into a suspension of calcium hydroxide in water, and that is used in dentifrices and in pharmaceuticals as an antacid and to supplement bodily calcium stores