nitrate
Americannoun
-
nitrates
plural
-
Chemistry. a salt or ester of nitric acid, or any compound containing the univalent group –ONO 2 or NO 3 .
-
fertilizer consisting of potassium nitrate or sodium nitrate.
-
Informal. nitrate film.
verb (used with object)
-
nitrates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
nitrated,
past participle, past
-
nitrating
present participle
-
to treat with nitric acid or a nitrate.
-
to convert into a nitrate.
noun
-
any salt or ester of nitric acid, such as sodium nitrate, NaNO 3
-
a fertilizer consisting of or containing nitrate salts
verb
-
(tr) to treat with nitric acid or a nitrate
-
to convert or be converted into a nitrate
-
to undergo or cause to undergo the chemical process in which a nitro group is introduced into a molecule
-
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.
-
Compare nitrite
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
nitratesimple
-
nitratessimple
-
have nitratedperfect
-
has nitratedperfect
-
am nitratingprogressive
-
are nitratingprogressive
-
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
South America - Introductory
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
South America - High School
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have found that gut microbes can transform nitrate and iron from food into molecules that may help protect against cardiovascular and metabolic disease.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026
Alongside the hot weather, the government said "the efforts of the Action for Cleaner Water group and agriculture industry to reduce nitrate use on fields will support the reduction of build-up".
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Nitrite and nitrate testing is not routinely required in every suspected suicide, making it difficult to determine exactly how many deaths are associated with the chemical.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026
The venue, the museum’s Dryden Theatre, is relatively small at 500 seats, and demand is high, not for specific titles but for the opportunity to see any given movie on nitrate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
Ed McMillan had staged the Rad Lab’s most determined search for the isotope by propping a bottle of granular ammonium nitrate in the path of the thirty-seven-inch machine’s neutron beam for several months.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
There’s scant evidence that nitrates or pesticides are driving Iowa’s rising cancer rates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
The Environment Agency says floodwater can be difficult to store for public water supply because it arrives quickly and can contain high levels of sediment and nitrates washed off the land.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
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 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
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
"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
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
It can be nitrated at high temperatures and still yield good results.
From Nitro-Explosives: A Practical Treatise by P. Gerald (Percy Gerald) Sanford
The interior of this tank contains at least three concentric spirals of at least 1-inch lead pipe, through which water can be made to flow during the whole operation of nitrating.
From Nitro-Explosives: A Practical Treatise by P. Gerald (Percy Gerald) Sanford
The top of the tank is closed in with a dome of lead, in which is a small glass window, through which the progress of the nitrating operation can be watched.
From Nitro-Explosives: A Practical Treatise by P. Gerald (Percy Gerald) Sanford
Now, however, vertical iron cylinders, made of cast-iron, are used for the nitrating operation.
From Nitro-Explosives: A Practical Treatise by P. Gerald (Percy Gerald) Sanford
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 P. Gerald (Percy Gerald) Sanford
As the fibres differ greatly in their structure, they require different methods of nitrating.
From Nitro-Explosives: A Practical Treatise by P. Gerald (Percy Gerald) Sanford
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
