fertilizer

[fur-tl-ahy-zer]

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.

fertilizer

/ 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

fertilizer

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of fertilizer¹

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

Example Sentences

Even before new tariffs, input costs like fertilizer, seed, chemicals, equipment and fuel were already at all-time highs, added Nick Levendofsky, executive director of the Kansas Farmers Union.

Read more on Barron's

Scientists at the University of California, Davis, have created wheat plants capable of promoting the formation of their own fertilizer, a development that could lower global air and water pollution and reduce farming expenses.

Read more on Science Daily

Researchers at Tokyo Metropolitan University have uncovered how a catalyst used in a promising industrial reaction helps generate ammonia, a major component of fertilizer.

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The company’s focus on blasting follows material inroads carving off fertilizers businesses.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

These materials could open new pathways for producing essential chemicals like ammonia, a key ingredient in fertilizer, through cleaner and more sustainable methods.

Read more on Science Daily

Related Words

• manure