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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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nitratesimple
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nitratessimple
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have nitratedperfect
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has nitratedperfect
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am nitratingprogressive
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are nitratingprogressive
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is nitratingprogressive
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have been nitratingperfect progressive
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has been nitratingperfect progressive
Past
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nitratedsimple
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had nitratedperfect
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was nitratingprogressive
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were nitratingprogressive
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had been nitratingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of nitrate
Vocabulary lists containing nitrate
South America - Middle School
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South America - Introductory
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South America - High 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.
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
The Nitrate Picture Show felt like an antidote.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026
Nitrate offers a lot of promise as an oral health prebiotic.
From Salon • Jan. 30, 2024
You don't need to have been there and bought the bucket hat to know the songs: Parklife, Common People, Supersonic, Connection, Girl From Mars, Animal Nitrate.
From BBC • Jul. 15, 2023
Lunar Caustic, Nitrate of Silver.—Give a large teaspoonful of common salt, in a glass of water.
From Health, Happiness, and Longevity Health without medicine: happiness without money: the result, longevity by McCarty, Louis Philippe
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.
