nitrate
Americannoun
-
nitrates
plural
-
Chemistry. a salt or ester of nitric acid, or any compound containing the univalent group –ONO 2 or NO 3 .
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fertilizer consisting of potassium nitrate or sodium nitrate.
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Informal. nitrate film.
verb (used with object)
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nitrates,
present (3rd person singular)
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nitrated,
past participle, past
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nitrating
present participle
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to treat with nitric acid or a nitrate.
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to convert into a nitrate.
noun
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any salt or ester of nitric acid, such as sodium nitrate, NaNO 3
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a fertilizer consisting of or containing nitrate salts
verb
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(tr) to treat with nitric acid or a nitrate
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to convert or be converted into a nitrate
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to undergo or cause to undergo the chemical process in which a nitro group is introduced into a molecule
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A salt or ester of nitric acid, containing the group NO 3. Nitrates dissolve extremely easily in water and are an important component of the nitrogen cycle.
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Compare nitrite
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
nitratesimple
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nitratessimple
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have nitratedperfect
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has nitratedperfect
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am nitratingprogressive
-
are nitratingprogressive
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is nitratingprogressive
-
have been nitratingperfect progressive
-
has been nitratingperfect progressive
Past
-
nitratedsimple
-
had nitratedperfect
-
was nitratingprogressive
-
were nitratingprogressive
-
had been nitratingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of nitrate
Vocabulary lists containing nitrate
South America - Middle School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Scientists have long known that oral bacteria are essential for converting nitrate into nitrite.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026
Nitrate levels in tumor tissue stayed elevated for at least 24 hours after treatment, while nitrate levels in normal tissues dropped more quickly.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 27, 2026
But what had never before moved me was an actual reel of film—sitting, in this case, in the inspection room of the George Eastman Museum’s offsite nitrate vaults.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
Tests revealed the water is contaminated with nitrate, which can come from fertilizer, animal manure or human sewage, and 1,2,3-trichloropropane, a hazardous chemical that was widely used in pesticides years ago.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026
We were sitting in chemistry lab, waiting to see what happened when we mixed silver nitrate and salt.
From "The Book of Unknown Americans" by Cristina Henríquez
They contain nitrates, high levels of sodium and saturated fats, and aromatic hydrocarbons that increase the risk of cancer, hypertension, and heart disease.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 21, 2026
Men who use nitrates to treat cardiac conditions are most at risk when using the products, according to the announcement, which urged customers who purchased the products to stop using them immediately.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2026
The cancelled tests are for so-called inorganic pollutants - substances such as nitrates and phosphates that can indicate sewage or agricultural pollution.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2025
In the Upper Midwest, where corn and soy are king, public and private wells are extensively contaminated with excess nitrates from chemical fertilizers and animal manure that’s been applied to farmland.
From Salon ● Jul. 29, 2024
The danger lies in the increase in nitrates, for the peculiar physiology of the ruminant at once poses a critical problem.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
"This is a common modification we see in biology. However, we found that HGF loses its physiological activity when it becomes nitrated, and this phenomenon accumulates with age."
From Science Daily ● Nov. 19, 2024
One of the most effective ways of doing this is to develop antibodies that bind to the protein and block it from being nitrated in the first place.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 19, 2024
The widespread willingness to forgive pink, nitrated bacon for causing cancer illustrates how torn we feel when something beloved in our culture is proven to be detrimental to health.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 1, 2018
When PAHs from a flame mingle with nitrogen, say from a slab of meat, they can form nitrated PAHs, or NPAHs.
From Slate ● Jan. 23, 2014
Hence the lower nitrates are generally used, or such compounds as nitro-lignose, nitrated wood, &c., are used.
From Nitro-Explosives: A Practical Treatise by Sanford, P. Gerald (Percy Gerald)
He adds ammonium sulphate or ammonium nitrate to the mixed acids during the operation of nitrating, which he claims destroys the nitrous acid formed according to the equation—
From Nitro-Explosives: A Practical Treatise by Sanford, P. Gerald (Percy Gerald)
The acid mixture and the method of nitrating have much to do with the action of the various solvents, so also has the presence of water.
From Nitro-Explosives: A Practical Treatise by Sanford, P. Gerald (Percy Gerald)
By simply nitrating at a higher temperature than the cotton, the flax will yield a pyroxyline giving an equally fluid collodion.
From Nitro-Explosives: A Practical Treatise by Sanford, P. Gerald (Percy Gerald)
Another form of nitric acid plant, which promises to be of considerable service to the manufacturer of nitric acid for the purpose of nitrating, is the invention of the late Mr Manning Prentice, of Stowmarket.
From Nitro-Explosives: A Practical Treatise by Sanford, P. Gerald (Percy Gerald)
The usual nitrating vessel is provided with an acid inlet pipe at the bottom, and a glass separation cylinder with a lateral exit or overflow pipe at the top.
From Nitro-Explosives: A Practical Treatise by Sanford, P. Gerald (Percy Gerald)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
