fertilizer

American  

[fur-tl-ahy-zer] / ˈfɜr tlˌaɪ zər /

noun

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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Etymology

Origin of fertilizer

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

Example Sentences

CF Industries, which stood to benefit from higher fertilizer prices, dropped 3.5%.

From Barron's

Lowering their recommendation to neutral from outperform, Macquarie points out that customers in agriculture and transport are particularly exposed due to rising fuel and fertilizer costs.

From The Wall Street Journal

The EU executive offered to boost funding for farmers and proposed suspending some of the bloc’s existing tariffs on fertilizers.

From The Wall Street Journal

This "cradle-to-grave" approach considers inputs such as fertilizer, water, and energy, along with outputs like emissions and waste.

From Science Daily

“To put it in perspective, the increases in fertilizer and fuel costs means it will cost me an additional $100,000 to plant corn this year,” Littleton said.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• manure