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:
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
Scientists have long known that oral bacteria are essential for converting nitrate into nitrite.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026
However, the discovery could prove useful for athletes, many of whom already consume beetroot because dietary nitrate has been shown to support exercise performance.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 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
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
In 2019, both nitrates and phosphorus regulations were brought together under the Nutrients Action Plan.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 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
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
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
The formula used by the celluloid manufacturers for the production of the low form of nitrated product which they use is:— Sulphuric acid 66 parts by weight.
From Nitro-Explosives: A Practical Treatise by P. Gerald (Percy Gerald) Sanford
A mere trace of aniline is present in the tar ready formed; from the time this base was wanted in large quantities it had to be made by nitrating benzene, and then reducing the nitrobenzene.
From Coal and What We Get from It by Raphael Meldola
The poachers hold about 2,000 lbs. of material, and as this represents the products of many hundred distinct nitrating operations, a very uniform mixture is obtained.
From Nitro-Explosives: A Practical Treatise by P. Gerald (Percy Gerald) Sanford
Now, when all these fellows go about nitrating their glycerine," said Hawkins serenely, "they simply overlook the scientific principle which I have discovered.
From Mr. Hawkins' Humorous Adventures by Edgar Franklin
The nitrating house is best built of wood, and should have a close-boarded floor, which should be kept scrupulously clean, and free from grit and sand.
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
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.
