FERTILIZER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does fertilizer mean? 

• FERTILIZER (noun)
  The noun FERTILIZER has 1 sense:

1. any substance such as manure or a mixture of nitrates used to make soil more fertile

  Familiarity information: FERTILIZER used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FERTILIZER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any substance such as manure or a mixture of nitrates used to make soil more fertile

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

fertiliser; fertilizer; plant food

Hypernyms ("fertilizer" is a kind of...):

chemical; chemical substance (material produced by or used in a reaction involving changes in atoms or molecules)

Meronyms (substance of "fertilizer"):

soda niter; sodium nitrate ((NaNO3) used especially as a fertilizer and explosive)

niter; nitre; potassium nitrate; saltpeter; saltpetre ((KNO3) used especially as a fertilizer and explosive)

ammonium nitrate (used as an explosive and fertilizer and rocket propellant)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fertilizer"):

organic; organic fertiliser; organic fertilizer (a fertilizer that is derived from animal or vegetable matter)

Derivation:

fertilize (provide with fertilizers or add nutrients to)

fertilize (make fertile or productive)

 Context examples 

According to Marisa Bezerra Monte, the compound could provide an alternative to the use of soluble fertilizers, which pollute water and waste nutrients.

(New Brazilian fertilizer can boost productivity, Agência BRASIL)

Knowing the soil’s potential to mineralize nitrogen from organic matter, making it available to plants, would help improve nitrogen fertilizer recommendations.

(New Test Can Determine Nitrogen Levels in Soil, U.S. Department of Agriculture)

Urea is a common fertilizer, so it's present in runoff.

(Giant kelp switches diet when key nutrient becomes scarce, National Science Foundation)

New initiatives such as the Runoff Risk Advisory Forecast are designed to help farmers apply fertilizer at optimum times to limit nutrient runoff to the Gulf.

(Gulf of Mexico ‘dead zone’ is the largest ever measured, NOAA)

Creating fertilizer is energy intensive, and the process produces greenhouse gases that are a major driver of climate change.

(Bacteria Used to Create Fertilizer Out of Thin Air, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Among the most pervasive is pollution by nutrients, usually nitrogen or phosphorus from fertilizers.

(Ancient lakes: eyes into the past, and the future, National Science Foundation)

In addition, it reduces by up to two months the time needed to stabilize and sterilise the organic matter from the sludge and convert it into fertilizer.

(Scientists validate a new technology that transforms sewage sludge into fertilizer more efficiently, University of Granada)

Food produced without the use of man-made fertilizer, drugs that increase growth, or drugs that kill insects, bacteria, or other living things.

(Organic food, NCI Dictionary)

The fertilizers used in agriculture play a significant role in reducing the release of nitrous oxide.

(Method that cuts sugarcane emissions gets global prize, SciDev.Net)

In the laboratory, ammonia can be changed to a liquid and used in medicines, fertilizers, household cleaning liquids, and other products.

(Ammonia, NCI Dictionary)