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nitrogen-fixing

[nahy-truh-juh n-fik-sing]

adjective

involved in or aiding the process of nitrogen fixation.

Origin of nitrogen-fixing

First recorded in 1895–1900
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
nitrogen fixing in Culture

nitrogen fixing

The conversion of atmospheric nitrogen (which plants cannot absorb) into forms of nitrogen that plants can absorb. Bacteria in the topsoil carry out the conversion.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.