nitrate
Americannoun
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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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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
Etymology
Origin of nitrate
Vocabulary lists containing nitrate
South America - Middle School
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South America - Introductory
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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.
Known as the Lugg Moratorium, developers can buy credits to offset the phosphate and nitrate added by building, and the money is used to fund wetlands.
From BBC • Apr. 26, 2026
The team used a nitrate chemical ionization mass spectrometer, a sensitive instrument that can identify specific compounds in the air.
From Science Daily • Apr. 11, 2026
To preserve its own supplies, Russia has suspended exports of ammonium nitrate, another nitrogen source for fertilizer.
From Salon • Apr. 8, 2026
Plastic or glass packaging and nitrate levels -- which can indicate pollution at source -- are other factors, Pieterse said, against a backdrop of Stellenbosch's expansive vineyards and warm mountainscapes.
From Barron's • Jan. 29, 2026
In the other hand, she held what Boaz recognized as a storage box for the silver nitrate film from the Grand Dame’s archive room.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
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.
