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.

---

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

---

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.

---

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

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

From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2026

The near-total closure of the Strait of Hormuz sent fertilizer prices sharply higher this year, raising concerns over a broader shock to the global food system.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

Roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply moved through the strait before the war, as well as much of its aluminum, fertilizer and other raw materials.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026

Yuntianhua may be the one Chinese company that connects Washington’s worries about China’s role in agriculture with the Hormuz fertilizer squeeze.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026

“There’s no way we can get eighty pounds of fertilizer through that thing!”

From "Linked" by Gordon Korman

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

In agriculture, fertilizers can be enclosed inside PHA beads that gradually release their contents as the plastic breaks down.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 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

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

Do I realize that nitrogen fertilizers are destroying fish life by fostering an overgrowth of algae?

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood

Related Words

• manure