breccia

[ brech-ee-uh, bresh- ]

noun

, Petrology.

1. rock composed of angular fragments of older rocks melded together.

breccia

/ ˈbrɛtʃɪə /

noun

1. a rock consisting of angular fragments embedded in a finer matrix, formed by erosion, impact, volcanic activity, etc

breccia

/ brĕch′ē-ə,brĕch′ə,brĕsh′- /

1. A rock composed of angular fragments embedded in a fine-grained matrix. Breccias form from explosive volcanic ejections, the compaction of talus, or plate tectonic processes. Breccias are different from conglomerates in that the fragments they contain are angular instead of rounded.

Derived Forms

• ˈbrecciˌated, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of breccia¹

1765–75; < Italian < Germanic; compare Old High German brecha breaking

Word History and Origins

Origin of breccia¹

C18: from Italian, from Old High German brecha a fragment; see breach

Example Sentences

Most of the ejected material is called breccia - angular rocks cemented by clay.

From BBC

Findings suggest it formed from chunks of other rocks cemented together - like broken pieces from multiple jigsaws mashed together - in what is known as breccia.

From BBC

Instead, the pair found breccias — mash-ups of different types of older rock, melted and fused together in the violence of titanic meteorite strikes.

From Washington Post

The Pinnacles’ high peaks are mostly volcanic breccia, which is more vulnerable to crumbling, a different sort of challenge.

From Los Angeles Times

The most habitable meteorite samples analyzed appeared to be made of a rock type called regolith breccia.

From Scientific American