fertilizer

American  

[fur-tl-ahy-zer] / ˈfɜr tlˌaɪ zər /

noun

fertilizers plural

1. any substance used to fertilize the soil, especially a commercial or chemical manure.

2. a person, insect, etc., that fertilizes an animal or plant.

   Bees are fertilizers of flowers.

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fertilizer British  

/ ˈfɜːtɪˌlaɪzə /

noun

1. any substance, such as manure or a mixture of nitrates, added to soil or water to increase its productivity

2. an object or organism such as an insect that fertilizes an animal or plant

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fertilizer Scientific  

/ fûr′tl-ī′zər /

1. Any of a large number of natural and synthetic materials, including manure and compounds containing nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, spread on or worked into soil to increase its capacity to support plant growth. Synthetic fertilizers can greatly increase the productivity of soil but have high energy costs, since fossil fuels are required as a source of hydrogen, which is necessary to fix nitrogen in ammonia.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• fertilizers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of fertilizer

First recorded in 1655–65; fertilize + -er ¹

Explanation

Material you add to a garden to increase the nutrients in the soil and help plants grow is called fertilizer. If your rosebushes are looking a little sad, you might want to try using fertilizer. To fertilize is to make something fertile, or to encourage it to grow or reproduce. These words, along with fertilizer, come from the Latin fertilis, "bearing in abundance, fruitful, or productive." The most common kind of organic fertilizer is animal manure or peat, and other fertilizers are made of specific nutrients like nitrogen or potassium. Fertilizers are usually solid, though they come in liquid form as well.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fertilizer fertilizers

From that point on, I figured out the fertilizer recipe.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

People already have seen some price impacts from higher energy costs — as well as higher costs for fertilizer, whose inputs also largely come from the Middle East — in supermarkets, he said.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026

The dust-up over data comes as the cattle industry contends with a growing list of challenges, including from the U.S.-Iran war, which has increased costs for farming staples like fuel and fertilizer.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026

That’s partially the consequence of blockages of the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial thoroughfare not only for middle eastern oil, but also for such industrial inputs as fertilizer and aluminum.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

In his travels, Tisquantum stayed in places where Europeans used fish as fertilizer, a practice on the Continent since medieval times.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Certain energy products and fertilizers will also be exempt, alongside products covered by the US-Mexico-Canada free trade pact, a US official told reporters.

From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026

Heavy metal pollution is common around industrial sites, mining regions, cities, and towns, but contaminants can also spread into rural landscapes through the air, sewage sludge, fertilizers, and other agricultural products.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 7, 2026

It said they’re now able to withstand freak weather and require less nitrogen based fertilizers to get the same crops.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

They were looking for a steady source of raw milk at a time when consumers were waking up to the risks of food contaminated by additives, fertilizers and pesticides.

From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026

For a time, I attempted to grow peanuts, and used different soils and fertilizers, but finally I gave up.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Related Words

• manure