phosphate

American  

[fos-fayt] / ˈfɒs feɪt /

noun

• phosphates
  plural

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.

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phosphate British  

/ ˈfɒsfeɪt /

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

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phosphate Scientific  

/ fŏs′fāt′ /

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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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subphosphate
  noun
• phosphatic
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• phosphates
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of phosphate

First recorded in 1785–95; phosph- + -ate ²

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

phosphate phosphates

It is then converted into sulfuric acid, which reacts with mined phosphate rock to produce phosphoric acid used to make phosphate fertilizers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

Yet Beijing’s restrictions prevent Yuntianhua and other Chinese producers from exporting phosphate fertilizer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

Namibia has granted environmental clearance for an offshore phosphate mining project that paves the way for the world's first commercial seabed-dredging operation for the mineral, despite opposition from green groups and the fishing industry.

From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026

Blooms occur naturally but are more frequent during warm, dry weather and are exacerbated by nutrients from phosphate in pollutants such as sewage.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

As to the forces that held the chains together, the best guess seemed to be salt bridges in which divalent cations like Mg++ held together two or more phosphate groups.

From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson

But unlike nitrogen fertilizers, which have to be applied with every planting, phosphates foster longer-term soil health.

From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026

"The levels of both nitrates, which we believe comes from agricultural fertilisers, and also phosphates, which tends to come more from the sewage outlets, the levels are both high, worryingly high," he said.

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 price of fertilizer has jumped in recent days, with the Middle East conflict choking off big chunks of the world’s supply of ammonia, urea, sulfur and phosphates.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026

All our speculations about whether divalent ions held the chains together would have made no sense if there were hydrogen atoms firmly bound to the phosphates.

From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson

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