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calcify

American  
[kal-suh-fahy] / ˈkæl səˌfaɪ /

verb (used with or without object)

calcified, calcifying

  1. Physiology. to make or become calcareous or bony; harden by the deposit of calcium salts.

  2. Geology. to harden by deposition of calcium carbonate.

  3. to make or become rigid or intransigent, as in a political position.

calcify British  
/ ˈkælsɪˌfaɪ /

verb

  1. to convert or be converted into lime

  2. to harden or become hardened by impregnation with calcium salts

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • noncalcified adjective
  • uncalcified adjective

Etymology

Origin of calcify

First recorded in 1830–40; calci- + -fy

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.