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

Knight — a hydroponic gardening supply store owner who was pictured outside the U.S.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 27, 2026

“There might be some producers who are kind of doing it in hydroponic settings for small local farms. But again, it's going to be this really short window.”

From Salon • Mar. 22, 2025

In hydroponic agriculture, farmers cultivate plants by providing their roots with a nutrient solution.

From Science Daily • Feb. 27, 2024

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

This morning, while checking on my experiment in the growth of hydroponic flax, I’d noticed the paper I’d taped to my desk lamp to concentrate the beam onto the seedlings.

From "Ungifted" by Gordon Korman