caliche

noun

ca·li·che | \kə-ˈlē-chē

\

Definition of caliche

1 : the nitrate-bearing gravel or rock of the sodium nitrate deposits of Chile and Peru

2 : a crust of calcium carbonate that forms on the stony soil of arid regions

Examples of caliche in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Plant bare-root roses and trees, breaking up caliche if trees will be taprooted. — idahostatesman, "A gardening to do list for March and April | Idaho Statesman," 21 Mar. 2018 There was little reason to pave our driveway, because white caliche rock tracks like glue and deposits all over the ground during wet weather. — Neil Sperry, star-telegram, "Mother Nature isn’t a fan of straight lines, and we shouldn’t be either," 19 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'caliche.' 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 caliche

Dictionary Entries near caliche

calibrated airspeed

Statistics for caliche

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for caliche

The first known use of caliche was in 1833

See more words from the same year

Keep scrolling for more

WORD OF THE DAY

tomfoolery

playful or foolish behavior

Test Your Vocabulary

Autumn Words of the Day 2018

Which is a synonym of fugacious?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ

Word Winder's CrossWinder

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

TAKE THE QUIZ

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games