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)
-
nitrated,
past participle, past
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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
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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
-
have nitratedperfect
-
has nitratedperfect
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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
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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:
With their help, he mixed carefully measured quantities of lead nitrate into lampblack ink, creating inks with several different lead concentrations.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026
They did this either by giving dietary supplements containing nitrate and iron or by administering synthetically produced DNIC.
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
The festival is dedicated to screening prints on nitrate film, which was standard in Hollywood through the 1940s but is rarely shown today.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
Whatever she saw, it clearly shook her, even worse than trying to pull out the reel of silver nitrate film.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
There’s scant evidence that nitrates or pesticides are driving Iowa’s rising cancer rates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 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
Pickles says 10 volunteers covered four testing sites and test once a week for phosphates and nitrates, as well as for electro-conductivity levels and temperature, which can impact the results.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
A research group led by Professor Fumiaki Amano at Tokyo Metropolitan University has focused on the electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction, an emerging method that creates ammonia from nitrates at room temperature and normal atmospheric pressure.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 22, 2025
When corn, oats, or sorghum containing large amounts of nitrates are ensiled they release poisonous nitrogen oxide gases, creating a deadly hazard to anyone entering the silo.
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
In the chapter on explosives I explained how cellulose treated with nitric acid in the presence of sulfuric acid was nitrated.
From Creative Chemistry Descriptive of Recent Achievements in the Chemical Industries by Edwin E. Slosson
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 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 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
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 P. Gerald (Percy Gerald) Sanford
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