fertilize

fertilize
[[t]fɜ͟ː(r)tɪlaɪz[/t]]
fertilizes, fertilizing, fertilized
(in BRIT, also use fertilise)
1) VERB When an egg from the ovary of a woman or female animal is fertilized, a sperm from the male joins with the egg, causing a baby or young animal to begin forming. A female plant is fertilized when its reproductive parts come into contact with pollen from the male plant.

[be V-ed with n] Certain varieties cannot be fertilised with their own pollen.

[V n] ...the normal sperm levels needed to fertilise the female egg...

[V-ed] Pregnancy begins when the fertilized egg is implanted in the wall of the uterus. [Also V n with n]

Syn:
Derived words:
fertilization [[t]fɜ͟ː(r)tɪlaɪze͟ɪʃ(ə)n[/t]] N-UNCOUNT

The average length of time from fertilization until birth is about 266 days.

2) VERB To fertilize land means to improve its quality in order to make plants grow well on it, by spreading solid animal waste or a chemical mixture on it.

[V n] The faeces contain nitrogen and it is that which fertilises the desert soil.

[V-ed] ...chemically fertilized fields.

Syn:

English dictionary. 2008.

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Synonyms:
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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Fertilize — Fer ti*lize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Fertilized}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Fertilizing}.] [Cf. F. fertiliser.] 1. To make fertile or enrich; to supply with nourishment for plants; to make fruitful or productive; as, to fertilize land, soil, ground, and… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • fertilize — [fʉrt′ l īz΄] vt. fertilized, fertilizing 1. to make fertile; make fruitful or productive; enrich [nitrates fertilize soil] 2. to spread fertilizer on 3. Biol. to make (the female reproductive cell or female individual) fruitful by pollinating,… …   English World dictionary

  • fertilize — 1640s, make fertile; see FERTILE (Cf. fertile) + IZE (Cf. ize). Its biological sense of unite with an egg cell is first recorded 1859. Related: Fertilized; fertilizing …   Etymology dictionary

  • fertilize — (Amer.) fer·ti·lize || fÉœrtlaɪz / fɜːtɪ v. impregnate, inseminate; enrich the soil by the addition of organic or chemical substances (also fertilise) …   English contemporary dictionary

  • fertilize — [v] make ready to bear, produce beget, breed, compost, cover, dress, enrich, fecundate, feed, fructify, generate, germinate, impregnate, inseminate, lime, make fruitful, make pregnant, manure, mulch, pollinate, procreate, propagate, top dress,… …   New thesaurus

  • fertilize — (also fertilise) ► VERB 1) cause (an egg, female animal, or plant) to develop a new individual by introducing male reproductive material. 2) add fertilizer to (soil or land). DERIVATIVES fertilization noun …   English terms dictionary

  • fertilize — verb Fertilize is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑sperm Fertilize is used with these nouns as the object: ↑egg, ↑field, ↑soil …   Collocations dictionary

  • fertilize — UK [ˈfɜː(r)təlaɪz] / US [ˈfɜrtəˌlaɪz] verb [transitive] Word forms fertilize : present tense I/you/we/they fertilize he/she/it fertilizes present participle fertilizing past tense fertilized past participle fertilized 1) biology to provide the… …   English dictionary

  • fertilize — transitive verb ( ized; izing) Date: 1621 to make fertile: as a. to apply a fertilizer to < fertilize land > b. to cause the fertilization of • fertilizable adjective …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • fertilize — fertilizable, adj. fertilizability, n. /ferr tl uyz /, v.t., fertilized, fertilizing. 1. Biol. a. to render (the female gamete) capable of development by uniting it with the male gamete. b. to fecundate or impregnate (an animal or plant). 2. to… …   Universalium

  • fertilize — verb a) To make (the soil) more fertile by adding nutrients to it. to fertilize ones imagination b) To make more creative or intellectually productive …   Wiktionary

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