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)
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nitrated,
past participle, past
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nitrating
present participle
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to treat with nitric acid or a nitrate.
-
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
-
nitratesimple
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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
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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:
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
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
Co-author Dr. Charlotte Mills, University of Reading, explained that the findings point to new ways of improving how the body processes nitrate without relying on long-term sugar consumption.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026
The venue, the museum’s Dryden Theatre, is relatively small at 500 seats, and demand is high, not for specific titles but for the opportunity to see any given movie on nitrate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
But scientists in the Department of Agriculture had a better idea: Spread the ammonium nitrate on farmland as fertilizer.
From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan
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
A group of Gloucestershire neighbours testing their local river every week for more than a year say they are concerned by "worryingly high" levels of phosphates and nitrates recorded.
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
During the internship, he was a lead author on a research paper with Barge, Khodayari and others on how nitrates react with iron compounds in aqueous environments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2024
When the animal feeds on vegetation containing an abnormally high level of nitrates, the microorganisms in the rumen act on the nitrates to change them into highly toxic nitrites.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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
"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
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 nitrocelluloses are all highly inflammable bodies, the more highly nitrated burning with explosive force.
From The Dyeing of Cotton Fabrics A Practical Handbook for the Dyer and Student by Franklin Beech
In operating with this apparatus the nitrating acid is introduced into the nitrating vessel by opening the cock of the pipe e.
From Nitro-Explosives: A Practical Treatise by P. Gerald (Percy Gerald) Sanford
Explosives demanded oleum, nitric acid, and nitrating plants, which already existed, standardised, in the factories of the dye combine.
From The Riddle of the Rhine; chemical strategy in peace and war by Victor Lefebure
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
Now, however, vertical iron cylinders, made of cast-iron, are used for the nitrating operation.
From Nitro-Explosives: A Practical Treatise by P. Gerald (Percy Gerald) Sanford
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
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.
