: a rock resembling flint and consisting essentially of a large amount of fibrous chalcedony with smaller amounts of cryptocrystalline quartz and amorphous silica
Examples of chert in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Still, the microorganisms Schopf discovered in the chert in Western Australia may not be the oldest fossil evidence of life on the planet.
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Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 14 Jan. 2022
This ratio revealed that the shapes preserved in the chert were characteristic of biological matter.
—Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 14 Jan. 2022
Most of the tools and arrows the researchers examined were made of chert, a sedimentary rock.
—Mark Barna, Discover Magazine, 20 June 2018
The soil was loose, and flecked with slivers of chert.
—Rachel Monroe, The New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2022
The water was ice-cold and filtered through the chert and limestone of the country and tasted as though civilization was still something in the future.
—Sebastian Junger, Outside Online, 19 May 2021
The Southern Pomo built tule balsa rafts and lived in tule huts all over the Santa Rosa Plain, fishing for salmon with hooks chipped from chert.
—Carolyn Wells, Longreads, 24 Mar. 2022
Most of the blade-like remnants are smaller than two centimeters and are made from chert and quartz.
—Jane Recker, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Mar. 2022
This chert bladelet still has a remnant of its bone haft attached.
—Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, 3 Mar. 2022
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Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 14 Jan. 2022
This ratio revealed that the shapes preserved in the chert were characteristic of biological matter.
—Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 14 Jan. 2022
Most of the tools and arrows the researchers examined were made of chert, a sedimentary rock.
—Mark Barna, Discover Magazine, 20 June 2018
The soil was loose, and flecked with slivers of chert.
—Rachel Monroe, The New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2022
The water was ice-cold and filtered through the chert and limestone of the country and tasted as though civilization was still something in the future.
—Sebastian Junger, Outside Online, 19 May 2021
The Southern Pomo built tule balsa rafts and lived in tule huts all over the Santa Rosa Plain, fishing for salmon with hooks chipped from chert.
—Carolyn Wells, Longreads, 24 Mar. 2022
Most of the blade-like remnants are smaller than two centimeters and are made from chert and quartz.
—Jane Recker, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Mar. 2022
This chert bladelet still has a remnant of its bone haft attached.
—Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, 3 Mar. 2022
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'chert.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
origin unknown
First Known Use
1679, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near chert
Cite this Entry
“Chert.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chert. Accessed 3 Oct. 2023.
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Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about chert
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