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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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.
When the balance of oral bacteria shifts in the wrong direction, that nitrate to nitric oxide pathway may become less efficient.
From Science Daily • May 25, 2026
Follow up work and related studies have continued to strengthen the idea that oral bacteria are central to how nitrate affects the body.
From Science Daily • May 25, 2026
A 2025 Scientific Reports study in rats found that a nitrate and antioxidant mouth rinse supported nitrate and nitrite reducing oral bacteria and was associated with lower blood pressure compared with chlorhexidine treatment.
From Science Daily • May 25, 2026
A 2026 pilot study also highlighted the importance of the mouth in nitrate biology.
From Science Daily • May 25, 2026
In the northern provinces, the collapse of the nitrate fields had left thousands of workers destitute.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
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.
