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

Lower market prices for farm commodities and higher costs for fuel and fertilizer have eroded farmers’ incomes, causing them to refrain from buying new tractors, harvesters and other equipment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

At the end of this live commercial he said that this fertilizer made for “happy grass.”

From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2026

If China removes export restrictions, which could happen before Xi and Trump meet, fertilizer producers like Mosaic and Nutrien could see conditions improve.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026

Meanwhile, U.S. fertilizer companies are competing with China’s bottomless checkbook, impacting investor upside.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026

Dad’s already warned me about how sorry I’ll be if Wexford-Smythe University pulls out of here because they don’t like having fertilizer dumped in their mail slot.

From "Linked" by Gordon Korman

This is especially true for their company, which employs about 130,000 people across more than 50 countries and has interests in paper products, petroleum, pipelines, chemicals, fertilizers, electronic components, logistics and more.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 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

In place of petrochemical fertilizers, Greenways’s organic acres are fed with compost from a nearby horse farm and by poultry manure.

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan

Related Words

• manure