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

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Etymology

Origin of fertilizer

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

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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

This comes as Tehran maintains a chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global energy and fertilizer transit.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

About one-third of global fertilizer shipments pass through the narrow waterway, creating potentially catastrophic knock-on effects for agricultural producers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

If that’s not enough, a third of the world’s fertilizer runs through the Strait of Hormuz.

From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2026

But it’s especially bad for big agricultural states, where margins were already thinned due to tariffs and fertilizer prices.

From Slate ● Sep. 26, 2026

She continued down the row of stunted carrots, working in the rich fertilizer that Maesie, the Academy’s cook, had given her at the start of her shift.

From "Huntress" by Malinda Lo

Schacht said some fertilizers he needs for the next planting season have doubled in price.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

Prices in Canada for chemicals and chemical products fell 3.4%, driven by fertilizers, pesticides and other chemical products as well as lower prices for plastic resins.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

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

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

And that corn is only cheap if you don’t count all the hidden costs, like the cost of pollution from chemical fertilizers.

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan

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Related Words

• manure

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