chert

noun

\ ˈchərt

How to pronounce chert (audio)

, ˈchat

How to pronounce chert (audio)

\

Definition of chert

: a rock resembling flint and consisting essentially of a large amount of fibrous chalcedony with smaller amounts of cryptocrystalline quartz and amorphous silica

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Examples of chert in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In exchange, Cahokian emissaries brought with them a kind of rock known as Burlington chert, a familiar resource for making their unique tri-lobed projectile points. — Jayur Mehta, The Conversation, "Cahokian culture spread across eastern North America 1,000 years ago in an early example of diaspora," 30 Oct. 2020 Whoever created it was probably a hunter-gatherer living at Lingjing, in northern China, near the end of the last Ice Age; their culture also made simple pottery and shaped black chert into small, sharp blades. — Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, "13,300-year-old Chinese bird figurine found in a rubbish heap," 10 June 2020 Blades chipped from cryptocrystalline, rocks such as chert and obsidian, are extremely sharp. — Keith Mccafferty, Field & Stream, "How to Make Primitive Survival Weapons in the Bush," 24 Apr. 2020 It is made of red rock — radiolarian chert, formed millions of years ago, when this part of the world was at the bottom of an ancient sea. — Carl Nolte, SFChronicle.com, "Men come and go, but Earth abides," 21 Mar. 2020 To find out, the archaeologists compared the sharpness and durability of Olduvai basalt, chert, and quartzite: three of the most common materials for stone tools in and around the gorge. — Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, "Archaeologists put stone tools through modern engineering tests," 3 Feb. 2020 Quartzite turned out to be the sharpest stone on the list, with chert coming in a close second. — Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, "Archaeologists put stone tools through modern engineering tests," 3 Feb. 2020 The tools—six sharp brown chert flakes and a scraper—make a much clearer case. — Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, "Archaeologists find 300,000-year-old stone tools in Saudi Arabia," 29 Oct. 2018 The chert that Otzi used was mined from three different areas, which were as far as 40 miles away, Dr. Wierer said. — Nicholas St. Fleur, New York Times, "The Final Hours of the Iceman’s Tools," 21 June 2018

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

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“Chert.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chert. Accessed 28 Feb. 2021.

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