pozzolan

P3O1Z10Z10O1L1A1N1

noun

Any material which, when combined with calcium hydroxide, exhibits cementitious properties; often used as an extender with Portland cements.

Scrabble 28

Meanings

nounpozzolan (plural pozzolans)

plural pozzolans · alternative pozzolana

  1. Any material which, when combined with calcium hydroxide, exhibits cementitious properties; often used as an extender with Portland cements.

    Both are what are called pozzolans, reactive materials that help make the concrete stronger.

    2009 March 31, Henry Fountain, “Concrete Is Remixed With Environment in Mind”, in The New York Times
    1 more example

    The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Gilliland & Moran 1949; Moran & Gilliand 1950) developed a mortar bar expansion test using Pyrex glass as a “standard reactive aggregate” to evaluate the efficacy of pozzolans for controlling ASR. For example, in the specification for the Davis Dam in Arizona the requirement for the pozzolan, among other properties, was to affect a reduction of at least 75% in the 14-day expansion of mortar bars produced with high-alkali cement plus 20% pozzolan plus Pyrex glass when stored over water at 100°F (38ºC).

    2020 May 28, Michael Thomas, David Smith, and Edward Moffatt, “THE USE OF GROUND GLASS AS A POZZOLAN”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), page 1

Origin

  1. Italianpozzolana
  2. Englishpozzolan

From Italian pozzolana.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish potsolaaninen materiaali
  • potsolaaninen materiaalitype of material
Cite this entry
APA

pozzolan. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pozzolan

MLA

“pozzolan.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pozzolan. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pozzolan,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pozzolan.

Source: pozzolan on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.