fertilize
Americanverb (used with object)
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Biology.
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to render (the female gamete) capable of development by uniting it with the male gamete.
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to fecundate or impregnate (an animal or plant).
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to make fertile; enrich.
to fertilize farmland.
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to make productive.
verb
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to provide (an animal, plant, or egg cell) with sperm or pollen to bring about fertilization
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to supply (soil or water) with mineral and organic nutrients to aid the growth of plants
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to make fertile or productive
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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refertilizableadjective
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prefertilizeverb (used with object)
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refertilizeverb (used with object)
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unfertilizingadjective
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fertilizableadjective
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unfertilizedadjective
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unfertilizableadjective
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overfertilizeverb (used with object)
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fertilizabilitynoun
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has fertilizedperfect 3rd person singular
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have fertilizedperfect
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am fertilizingprogressive 1st person singular
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has been fertilizingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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is fertilizingprogressive 3rd person singular
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fertilizingparticiple
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have been fertilizingperfect progressive
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are fertilizingprogressive
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fertilizessingular 3rd person
Past
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had fertilizedperfect
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were fertilizingprogressive plural
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had been fertilizingperfect progressive
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was fertilizingprogressive singular
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fertilizedparticiple
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fertilizedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of fertilize
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He will spread more of what my dad used to fertilize his roses.
From Salon • Feb. 20, 2026
In regions north of the Antarctic Polar Front -- a boundary where cold Antarctic waters meet warmer waters to the north -- that dust helped fertilize algae.
From Science Daily • Feb. 4, 2026
But syrup producers do not plant, irrigate, fertilize or use insecticides on their self-sufficient forests.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 24, 2025
“It can be also be used to fertilize terrestrial agriculture, and it’s fantastic because if you grow it out in the ocean, you’re not taking up any land.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 27, 2024
Some mutant hermaphrodites lost their self-incompatibility and became able to fertilize themselves—a process exemplified by many fruit trees such as plums, peaches, apples, apricots, and cherries.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
