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phosphate

[ fos-feyt ]

noun

  1. Chemistry.
    1. (loosely) a salt or ester of phosphoric acid.
    2. a tertiary salt of orthophosphoric acid, as sodium phosphate.
  2. Agriculture. a fertilizing material containing compounds of phosphorus.
  3. a carbonated drink of water and fruit syrup containing a little phosphoric acid.


phosphate

/ ˈfɒsfeɪt; fɒsˈfætɪk /

noun

  1. any salt or ester of any phosphoric acid, esp a salt of orthophosphoric acid
  2. often plural any of several chemical fertilizers containing phosphorous compounds
“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


phosphate

/ fŏsfāt′ /

  1. A salt or ester of phosphoric acid, containing the group PO 4 . Phosphates are important in metabolism and are frequently used in fertilizers.


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Derived Forms

  • phosphatic, adjective
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Other Words From

  • sub·phosphate noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of phosphate1

First recorded in 1785–95; phosph- + -ate 2
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Word History and Origins

Origin of phosphate1

C18: from French phosphat; see phosphorus , -ate 1
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Example Sentences

They discovered a biochemical phenomenon called reversible protein phosphorylation, in which a natural process adds or removes phosphates in cell proteins.

Kalion’s first target is phosphates, because of their immediate commercial applications.

Glucaric acid does the same work as phosphates without feeding those toxic blooms.

Water treatment plants, for example, have long relied on phosphates to prevent corrosion in pipes and to bind with metals like lead and copper so they don’t leach into the water supply.

Each strand has a backbone of sugars and phosphate molecules.

Until a year ago, phosphate mining had left gashes up to dozens of meters deep here.

The usual forms are: (a) Ammoniomagnesium phosphate crystals; (b) acid calcium phosphate crystals; and (c) amorphous phosphates.

When rapidly deposited, as by artificial precipitation, triple phosphate often takes feathery, star- or leaf-like forms.

The sediment usually contains abundant amorphous phosphates and crystals of triple phosphate and ammonium urate.

And phosphate of lime is also taken up by water containing carbonic acid, or even common salt in solution.

In general, bones may be said to contain about half their weight of phosphate of lime, and 10 or 12 per cent of water.

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phosphatasephosphate group