Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of a group of natural, variously colored calcium phosphate minerals containing fluorine, chlorine, or hydroxyl. These compounds form hexagonal crystals and are components of bones and teeth, are a source of phosphorus for plants, and are used in the manufacture of fertilizers.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Native calcium phosphate with calcium fluorid or chlorid, generally crystallized in hexagonal prisms, which are sometimes low or even tabular, sometimes elongated, and occasionally of great size.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Min.) Native phosphate of lime, occurring usually in six-sided prisms, color often pale green, transparent or translucent.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun mineralogy A
calcium fluoride phosphate of variable composition, sometimes used in the manufacture offertilizer .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a common complex mineral consisting of calcium fluoride phosphate or calcium chloride phosphate; a source of phosphorus
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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And one of the properties of [hydroxy] apatite is that you can have supersaturated solutions of calcium and phosphate that can be maintained quite stably.
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His team took a detailed look at a mineral within the basalt called apatite using an ion microprobe that can analyze grains much smaller than the width of a human hair.
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The extent of processing the so-called apatite concentrate produced by your feedstock suppliers is not being regulated in any way.
RIA Novosti 2009
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On the large scale, mechanical arrangements are employed for mixing the materials, so as to economise labour, and mineral phosphates, such as apatite, can then be used with advantage.
Elements of Agricultural Chemistry Thomas Anderson
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Her LUXE designs are filled with precious and semi-precious gemstones such as apatite, iolite and hessonite delicately clustered with emerald, ruby and topaz.
PR.com Press Releases JulRe Designs 2010
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Her LUXE designs are filled with precious and semi-precious gemstones such as apatite, iolite and hessonite delicately clustered with emerald, ruby and topaz.
PR.com Press Releases JulRe Designs 2010
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Calcium links up with phosphates to make the chemical "apatite" (calcium phosphate), one of the hardest chemicals we know, which is what makes bones hard and stony, and tough.
- The Naked Scientists Naked Science Radio Show PODCAST - Stripping Down Science 2010
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"rock phosphate," a variety of apatite which is mainly phosphate of lime.
A Text-book of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines. Cornelius Beringer 1886
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President Obama himself has faced a stinging rebuke from congress for his comments about lawmakers '"obsession" with the war, and the Out of Afghanistan Caucus continues to chip away at what little apatite for war remains in congress.
Josh Mull: All politics is local: Al-Qa'eda and the Afghanistan War 2010
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It's like criticizing the Roman Catholic belief because so many priests have an unhealthy apatite for young boys 'buttocks.
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Instead, it’s bound up with the mineral apatite — microscopic crystals making up 1 percent or 2 percent of a lunar soil sample.
How Much Sugar Would It Take To Get A Rocket To The Moon? Maggie Koerth 2018
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