fertilization
an act, process, or instance of fertilizing.
the state of being fertilized.
Biology.
the union of male and female gametic nuclei.
fecundation or impregnation of animals or plants.
the enrichment of soil, as for the production of crops.
Origin of fertilization
1Other words from fertilization
- fer·ti·li·za·tion·al, adjective
- o·ver·fer·ti·li·za·tion, noun
- pre·fer·ti·li·za·tion, noun
- re·fer·ti·li·za·tion, noun
Words Nearby fertilization
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use fertilization in a sentence
The sperm can’t make the journey on its own, and the real story of fertilization involves two reproductive systems working together.
So researchers’ ability to retrieve and prepare this scarce resource for fertilization, and if necessary preserve the eggs through freezing, have all been crucial in assisting reproduction.
Solving mysteries of reproduction helped make parenthood possible for millions | Robin Marantz Henig | June 9, 2021 | Science NewsScientists have known for some time that human eggs undergoing in vitro fertilization could be genetically altered.
CRISPR gives us the power to short-circuit evolution. What now? | Dina Temple-Raston | May 21, 2021 | Washington PostLater this year, the startup also plans to begin offering embryo testing, which will involve extracting a few cells from embryos created by in vitro fertilization, sequencing their DNA, and generating similar risk reports.
This spit test promises to tell couples their risk of passing on common diseases | Emily Mullin | April 21, 2021 | MIT Technology ReviewWhile we know a lot about development after we are born, and even a little about what happens during pregnancy, we really don’t know anything about human development in the first two or three weeks after fertilization.
Scientists Report Creating the First Embryo With Human and Non-Human Primate Cells | Alice Park | April 15, 2021 | Time
Or are they used in an evolutionary battle of the sexes over who has the last say in fertilization?
Oh, if These Penises and Vaginas Could Talk: Genitalia as Tools, Toys, and Weapons | Menno Schilthuizen | May 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTfertilization rates and implantation rates were similar—about 35 percent.
IVF for Just $300 Could Be a Reality Soon | Randi Hutter Epstein | August 31, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTBut the cross-fertilization of advertising and art also worked the other way.
Charles Saatchi: From Saatchi & Saatchi to Allegedly Choking Nigella Lawson | Peter Jukes | June 18, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST"The females are enormously, amazingly successful at preventing fertilization by forced copulation," he said.
And it would incite fierce resistance from those who believe life begins at fertilization.
The GOP Faces Years in the Wilderness After 2012 Election Losses | Robert Shrum | November 26, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTIn the flower where the father and mother part matures at the same time, self-fertilization is the rule.
The Mother and Her Child | William S. SadlerThe fertilization and growth of plants are regarded as processes resembling the procreation of man.
Elements of Folk Psychology | Wilhelm WundtThey are easily worked and very quickly respond to fertilization and thorough cultivation.
This embryo is the product of fertilization of a germinal vesicle by a pollen tube.
In the second class, if we count conjugation as a simple form of fertilization, there are only two types of reproductive methods.
British Dictionary definitions for fertilization
fertilisation
/ (ˌfɜːtɪlaɪˈzeɪʃən) /
the union of male and female gametes, during sexual reproduction, to form a zygote
the act or process of fertilizing
the state of being fertilized
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for fertilization
[ fûr′tl-ĭ-zā′shən ]
The process by which two gametes (reproductive cells having a single, haploid set of chromosomes) fuse to become a zygote, which develops into a new organism. The resultant zygote is diploid (it has two sets of chromosomes). In cross-fertilization, the two gametes come from two different individual organisms. In self-fertilization, the gametes come from the same individual. Fertilization includes the union of the cytoplasm of the gametes (called plasmogamy) followed by the union of the nuclei of the two gametes (called karyogamy). Among many animals, such as mammals, fertilization occurs inside the body of the female. Among fish, eggs are fertilized in the water. Among plants, fertilization of eggs occurs within the reproductive structures of the parent plant, such as the ovules of gymnosperms and angiosperms. See Note at pollination.
The process of making soil more productive of plant growth, as by the addition of organic material or fertilizer.
Other words from fertilization
- fertilize verb
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for fertilization
The joining of sex cells to form a new living thing. In humans, a male sperm joins a female ovum, or egg; the resulting zygote divides into a multicelled structure that implants in the womb and grows into an embryo. In plants, pollen grains, containing the male sex cells, enter the female sex cells in the pistil; from this union, fruit eventually grows. When fertilization occurs within a single flower, we call it self-fertilization. (See cross-fertilization.)
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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