compaction

[ kuh m-pak-shuh n, kom- ]
/ kəmˈpæk ʃən, kɒm- /

noun

the act of compacting or the state of being compacted.
Geology. the consolidation of sediments resulting from the weight of overlying deposits.

Origin of compaction

1350–1400; Middle English compaccioun < Latin compāctiōn- (stem of compāctiō) a joining, frame, equivalent to compāct(us) compact1 + -iōn- -ion

Words nearby compaction

compact disk, compact disk player, compact video disc, compactible, compactify, compaction, compactor, compadre, compages, compagnie, compander

Example sentences from the Web for compaction

  • This compaction in love will lead to a wealth of certitude in the possession of the truth.

    The Expositor's Bible: Colossians and Philemon |Alexander Maclaren

  • Each is drawing toward the other, but like glass in the mid-state between fusion and compaction a single sand will splinter it.

    Anima Poet |Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Scientific definitions for compaction

compaction
[ kəm-păk′shən ]

The process by which the porosity of a given form of sediment is decreased as a result of its mineral grains being squeezed together by the weight of overlying sediment or by mechanical means.