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 reason why cement so CO2-intensive is that 80% of the feedstock in making cement is limestone… That's really kind of that active ingredient on the cement side, and that means that 44% of that weight of that calcium carbonate is lost to CO2 emissions. —Jim Vinoski, Forbes, 23 Nov. 2024

Water hardness is created by minerals such as calcium carbonate. —Emiliano Tahui Gómez, Austin American-Statesman, 15 July 2024

The Nature Made Multi for Him has a small dose of calcium in the form of calcium carbonate (160mg or 12% DV). —Allison Knott, Ms, Rdn, Cssd, Health, 26 Sep. 2024

But limestone, also known as calcium carbonate, also reacts directly with carbon dioxide in the water, turning it into a stable bicarbonate that sinks to the bottom and keeps the carbon there more or less permanently, allowing the water to absorb more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. —New Atlas, 24 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1868, in the meaning defined above

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