phosphate

American  

[fos-fayt] / ˈfɒs feɪt /

noun

• phosphates
  plural

1. Chemistry.

   1. (loosely) a salt or ester of phosphoric acid.

   2. a tertiary salt of orthophosphoric acid, as sodium phosphate.

2. Agriculture. a fertilizing material containing compounds of phosphorus.

3. a carbonated drink of water and fruit syrup containing a little phosphoric acid.

---

phosphate British  

/ ˈfɒsfeɪt /

noun

1. any salt or ester of any phosphoric acid, esp a salt of orthophosphoric acid

2. (often plural) any of several chemical fertilizers containing phosphorous compounds

---

phosphate Scientific  

/ fŏs′fāt′ /

1. A salt or ester of phosphoric acid, containing the group PO ₄. Phosphates are important in metabolism and are frequently used in fertilizers.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subphosphate
  noun
• phosphatic
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• phosphates
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of phosphate

First recorded in 1785–95; phosph- + -ate ²

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

phosphate phosphates

The Food and Drug Administration approved revised labeling for the iron replacement medicine to warn of the risk of low levels of phosphate in the blood.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

Beginning late last year, China suspended exports of phosphate fertilizers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

Should it go ahead, the Sandpiper Project would be a world-first, with other offshore phosphate mining projects having been held back by environmental concerns.

From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026

Blooms occur naturally but are more frequent during warm, dry weather and are exacerbated by nutrients from phosphate in pollutants such as sewage.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

But since the linkages between the nucleotides involved only the phosphate and sugar groups, our assumption that the same type of chemical bond linked all the nucleotides together was not affected.

From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson

But unlike nitrogen fertilizers, which have to be applied with every planting, phosphates foster longer-term soil health.

From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026

Saudi Arabia has directed Maaden to expand production of phosphates, gold and aluminum, with plans to invest $110 billion over the next decade.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026

According to the United Nations around a third of the world's fertilisers - such as urea, potash, ammonia and phosphates - normally pass through the Hormuz Strait.

From BBC ● Mar. 29, 2026

Other relief being sought includes dropping long-standing duties on countries that export fertilizer products to the U.S., such as Morocco, a supplier of phosphates.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 29, 2026

After running through all the available chlorinated hydrocarbons, control agencies turned to the organic phosphates, but here again the story of resistance was repeated.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---