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 light reflecting off the calcium carbonate gives the water a milky blue hue. —Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 June 2025

Sediment-gobbling also releases nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus and calcium carbonate from the sand, to be used by other animals. —Katarina Zimmer, JSTOR Daily, 15 May 2025

Through a process called biomineralization, the calcium carbonate hardened the gooey, flexible mycelium into a stiff, bonelike structure. —Kameryn Griesser, CNN Money, 30 Apr. 2025

The toughness comes from the egg shell's structure; it is made up mostly of calcium carbonate (calcite) crystals, similar to tooth enamel or sea shells, embedded within a protein matrix. —Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 26 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1868, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for calcium carbonate

• borosilicate
• decontaminate
• deoxycholate
• deteriorate
• differentiate
• diisocyanate
• dinoflagellate
• excommunicate
• incapacitate
• insubordinate
• intercorporate
• interpenetrate

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