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
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web The hardy exoskeletons of crabs and their marine ilk are rich in useful, versatile chemicals like calcium carbonate, which has medicinal and industrial uses, and chitin, the second-most abundant natural polymer found on Earth. 
Miriam Fauzia, Popular Mechanics, 8 Sep. 2022 Low-oxygen water in the depths kept scavengers off the corpses long enough for calcium carbonate pouring down from the surrounding hills to preserve the remains in sedimentary layers resembling annual tree rings. Richard Conniff, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Aug. 2022 Clinker is made when limestone, calcium carbonate, is taken out of the ground and heated to 2700 to 2800 degrees (1480 to 1540 degrees Celsius) to turn it into calcium oxide. Seth Borenstein, Anchorage Daily News, 23 June 2022 The resulting space slurry could then be poured into moulds of any shape with the bacteria converting the urea into crystals of calcium carbonate. Jamie Carter, Forbes, 7 June 2022 Why this happened remains unclear, but a major change in ocean chemistry, with a higher concentration of calcium carbonate, likely played a key role. Samuel Zamora, The Conversation, 24 May 2022 Tall calcium carbonate spires rise from the shores of an ancient, mythical-looking saline lake. Megan Michelson, Outside Online, 10 Oct. 2021 Inspired by the swirls of gogottes—naturally occurring crystal formations created millions of years ago when quartz fragments fused with calcium carbonate—the coat was wearable art. Janelle Okwodu, Vogue, 4 May 2022 Colledilà Gran Selezione 2018 ($85)—Also 100% Sangiovese from a terroir quite different, with more clay and limestone rich in calcium carbonate and poor in organic material. John Mariani, Forbes, 1 May 2022 See More
Miriam Fauzia, Popular Mechanics, 8 Sep. 2022 Low-oxygen water in the depths kept scavengers off the corpses long enough for calcium carbonate pouring down from the surrounding hills to preserve the remains in sedimentary layers resembling annual tree rings. Richard Conniff, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Aug. 2022 Clinker is made when limestone, calcium carbonate, is taken out of the ground and heated to 2700 to 2800 degrees (1480 to 1540 degrees Celsius) to turn it into calcium oxide. Seth Borenstein, Anchorage Daily News, 23 June 2022 The resulting space slurry could then be poured into moulds of any shape with the bacteria converting the urea into crystals of calcium carbonate. Jamie Carter, Forbes, 7 June 2022 Why this happened remains unclear, but a major change in ocean chemistry, with a higher concentration of calcium carbonate, likely played a key role. Samuel Zamora, The Conversation, 24 May 2022 Tall calcium carbonate spires rise from the shores of an ancient, mythical-looking saline lake. Megan Michelson, Outside Online, 10 Oct. 2021 Inspired by the swirls of gogottes—naturally occurring crystal formations created millions of years ago when quartz fragments fused with calcium carbonate—the coat was wearable art. Janelle Okwodu, Vogue, 4 May 2022 Colledilà Gran Selezione 2018 ($85)—Also 100% Sangiovese from a terroir quite different, with more clay and limestone rich in calcium carbonate and poor in organic material. John Mariani, Forbes, 1 May 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
1868, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
calcium carbonate
noun
: a solid substance that is found as limestone and marble and in plant ashes, bones, and shells
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