nitrification

[ nahy-truh-fi-key-shuhn ]

nounChemistry, Biology.
  1. the process of oxidation in the nitrogen cycle that converts ammonia or ammonium compounds to nitrites and then to nitrates, especially this process as facilitated by bacteria and other microbes in soil to provide the nitrogen vital to plant health and growth.

Origin of nitrification

1
First recorded in 1820–30; nitr- + -i- + -fication

Words Nearby nitrification

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How to use nitrification in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for nitrification

nitrification

/ (ˌnaɪtrɪfɪˈkeɪʃən) /


noun
  1. the oxidation of the ammonium compounds in dead organic material into nitrites and nitrates by soil nitrobacteria, making nitrogen available to plants: See also nitrogen cycle

    • the addition of a nitro group to an organic compound

    • the substitution of a nitro group for another group in an organic compound

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for nitrification

nitrification

[ nī′trə-fĭ-kāshən ]


  1. The process by which bacteria in soil and water oxidize ammonia and ammonium ions and form nitrites and nitrates. Because the nitrates can be absorbed by more complex organisms, as by the roots of green plants, nitrification is an important step in the nitrogen cycle.

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