How to Use silica in a Sentence

silica

noun
  • When rice husks are burned, the ash is rich in high-grade silica.
    Geoff Colvin, Fortune, 28 Dec. 2021
  • Made of extremely fine, silica-rich quartz, the squeaky-soft sand is some of the smoothest and whitest in the world.
    Anne Olivia Bauso, Travel + Leisure, 12 Apr. 2021
  • The water is blue due to the way the silica reflects sunlight.
    Liz Dufour, USA TODAY, 25 May 2018
  • Those who hope to search these silica deposits for signs of life on Mars might not have to wait long.
    Jay Bennett, Popular Mechanics, 26 Dec. 2017
  • That means anything that was made from that silica is banned.
    Kenneth Rapoza, Forbes, 27 June 2021
  • Plus, the silica mud masks and mineral salts are great for your skin.
    Condé Nast Traveller, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Dec. 2023
  • Most of us see skyscrapers but don’t see the silica mines that created the glass.
    Edward Burtynsky, National Geographic, 25 Mar. 2020
  • Even so, spending a lot of time up close with silica can lead to health problems.
    Bridget Reed Morawski, Popular Science, 1 June 2023
  • The robot started with a layer of silica, the main component of sand, and used the ion beam to shape the walls and cut out the windows and door.
    Denise Chow /, NBC News, 30 May 2018
  • Step two is the silica face and body mask — this white mineral mask will cleanse and strengthen your skin.
    Hannah Streck, Travel + Leisure, 23 Aug. 2021
  • Like the glass in soda bottles, the glass in your vase consists mostly of white silica sand.
    Washington Post, 7 July 2021
  • The idea is to cut down on the weight that rigid metal or silica-ceramic shields require.
    Paul Brinkmann, OrlandoSentinel.com, 16 Apr. 2018
  • Further, the city will take samples from the crushing devices to look for silica as well.
    Michael Sangiacomo, cleveland.com, 23 May 2017
  • The entire El Corazon Park is being built on land that for more than 60 years was an open-pit silica mine.
    Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Feb. 2021
  • In the case of meat rocks, the stones contain varying degrees of quartz and silica; high-iron content in some brings out a reddish hue.
    Te-Ping Chen, WSJ, 13 May 2018
  • Choose those with added starch and/or silica, which leave a matte finish and help absorb oil and fight shine throughout the day.
    Beth Janes, Good Housekeeping, 7 Feb. 2020
  • Yee found that the same proton pump also helps diatoms make their tough silica shell.
    Kevin Hartnett, Quanta Magazine, 6 July 2023
  • The nano silica doesn’t add a protective layer or replace a loss of oil.
    Jon Stojan, USA TODAY, 19 July 2023
  • That comes from the high silica content in the water, which give it a particular mouth feel.
    Gina Pace, Town & Country, 1 June 2016
  • The foundation of the ridge ecosystem is a dense mat made of spicules, tiny structures of silica that sponges use to construct their bodies.
    Matt Simon, Wired, 8 Feb. 2022
  • Unlike the sarsens, which are made of local silica-rich stone, the bluestones are entirely alien to the landscape.
    National Geographic, 19 July 2022
  • Craftsmen fill large handmade clay pots with one and a half tons of silica and boron oxide powders.
    Jay Bennett, Popular Mechanics, 14 Feb. 2018
  • With tons of basalt rock around, the chemistry of the water would have reflected that rock—high in iron, magnesium, and silica.
    Scott K. Johnson, Ars Technica, 9 Aug. 2018
  • Think of this chalky white powder (made from fossilized plankton) as a big silica packet for a room.
    Brie Dyas, Country Living, 12 June 2020
  • With a combination of silica dust and coal dust, miners can pick up black lung much faster than with coal dust alone.
    Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, 22 Feb. 2018
  • Remarkably, some samples showed the 1,260 feature – samples that had a thin crust of NaCl on top of the silica.
    Jeffrey Marlow, Discover Magazine, 28 Nov. 2016
  • Back at the lab, El Albani and his team analyzed the glassy samples, made up of silica, albite, and iron chlorite.
    science.org, 3 July 2024
  • The result is a layer of pure silica, otherwise known as glass.
    Megan Molteni, Wired, 26 June 2020
  • The material contains lignin and silica as well, both of which aid in fighting off bacteria growth.
    Halee Miller Van Ryswyk, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 Sep. 2024
  • Although bentonite is not considered a carcinogen, raw bentonite may contain some traces of silica, a harmful carcinogenic crystalline compound.
    Laura Schober, Health, 11 Aug. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'silica.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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