From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsilicasil‧i‧ca /ˈsɪlɪkə/ noun [uncountable] HCCHEGa chemical compound that exists naturally as sand, quartz, and flint, used in making glass
Examples from the Corpus
silica• This model remains today the best For simple glasses, such as silica, and many of the new amorphous semiconductors.• This is not a result of sampling bias on our part, as all known sites of geothermal silica deposits were sampled.• The most commonly used rocks are those composed of silica, quartz, granite, slate, and other similarly stable materials.• Quartz is a crystalline form of silica.• Indeed as pure silica it is the insulating element in the technology of silicon microchips.• Because the silica in andesite makes it thick and pasty, andesite tends to trap large amounts of gas.Origin silica (1800-1900) Modern Latin Latin silex “flint” 