phosphate
Americannoun
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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
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.
On Monday, the company withdrew its guidance for phosphate production amid record sulfur prices.
From Barron's • May 11, 2026
Mosaic withdrew its phosphate production guidance and said it would limit capital expenditures for the year, as surging sulfuric acid prices weigh on its operations.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026
The company is scaling back phosphate production in the U.S. and Brazil and withdrew its production guidance.
From Barron's • May 11, 2026
“It’s getting to that critical point where inventories are being drawn down and production of critical minerals and agricultural products like phosphate, are slowing down,” said Craig Jorgenson, CEO of industry group the Sulphur Institute.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 9, 2026
Then I realized that the phosphate groups in Linus’ model were not ionized, but that each group contained a bound hydrogen atom and so had no net charge.
From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson
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.
