phosphate
Americannoun
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phosphates
plural
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Chemistry.
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(loosely) a salt or ester of phosphoric acid.
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a tertiary salt of orthophosphoric acid, as sodium phosphate.
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Agriculture. a fertilizing material containing compounds of phosphorus.
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a carbonated drink of water and fruit syrup containing a little phosphoric acid.
noun
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any salt or ester of any phosphoric acid, esp a salt of orthophosphoric acid
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(often plural) any of several chemical fertilizers containing phosphorous compounds
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of phosphate
Vocabulary lists containing phosphate
Pacific Islands - Introductory
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Pacific Islands - Middle School and High School
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Spelling Practice 2, Unit 3
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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:
"It is not worth it for Namibia to experiment on its seabed, putting its marine life and the entire movement of ocean water at risk for something as simple as phosphate," he told AFP..
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
"Marine phosphate mining at this scale has never been conducted anywhere in the world," it said after the certificate was issued.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
The biggest individual problem is phosphate - a nutrient from sewage and farm runoff - with around half of rivers still exceeding safe levels.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
And phosphate prices, while 20% higher than in February, are also expected to drop in response to a temporary suspension of tariffs on imports from Morocco.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
The added depressive effect of the organic phosphate may then be enough to precipitate acute symptoms.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
But unlike nitrogen fertilizers, which have to be applied with every planting, phosphates foster longer-term soil health.
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 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
Other relief being sought includes dropping long-standing duties on countries that export fertilizer products to the U.S., such as Morocco, a supplier of phosphates.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 29, 2026
The fighting has stranded big chunks of the world’s supply of ammonia, urea, sulfur and phosphates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 28, 2026
About two decades later various other organic phosphates came into use as insecticides, as we have seen, and soon cases reminiscent of the ginger paralysis episode began to occur.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
