hydroponic

American  

[hahy-druh-pon-ik] / ˌhaɪ drəˈpɒn ɪk /

adjective

1. relating to hydroponics, the cultivation of plants by placing the roots in a liquid nutrient solution rather than in soil.

   Soil-grown seedlings were transferred to the hydroponic solution and photographed 21 days later to show growth.

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Other Word Forms

• hydroponically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of hydroponic

First recorded in 1935–40; hydroponic(s) ( def. ), by shortening

Explanation

Anything hydroponic has something to do with growing plants in water or other materials instead of soil. A hydroponic tomato was probably grown using liquid nutrients, inside a greenhouse. The word hydroponic comes from two Greek roots: hydro-, or "water," and ponein, "to labor, work, or toil." When the work of growing a plant involves special nutrients dissolved in water rather than conventional beds in soil, that plant is hydroponic. Sometimes the roots of hydroponic plants are suspended in liquid, but often other non-soil materials like gravel or coir are used.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hydroponic

"The cyclone completely knocked down our entire hydroponic setup. Then we did not have the courage to set it up again."

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

Created to innovate urban farming as a way of ensuring food security in the future, Metro Farm is a hydroponic nursery of more than 30 different herbs, greens, and flowers—all grown vertically.

From National Geographic ● Jan. 16, 2024

Her research group has now developed an electrically conductive cultivation substrate tailored to hydroponic cultivation which they call eSoil.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 27, 2023

If you get more serious, you could even dispense with soil entirely and look at retail hydroponic units.

From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2023

So far, frosted food was brought from Earth in flying icicles; a few community gardens were greening up in hydroponic plants.

From "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury