Meaning & use
fertilize
Last updated
To add nutrients to soil to help plants grow, or to introduce sperm or pollen to an egg or ovule so that reproduction can occur.
See it in a sentence
The farmer fertilized the field before planting the spring crops.
Bees fertilize flowers as they move from one blossom to another collecting nectar.
A note on using this word
Covers both an agricultural sense (adding nutrients to soil) and a biological sense (union of sperm and egg); context makes clear which is meant.
Words with a similar meaning
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